WIEDERGEBURT Act IV: Chapter 18

I sat in the bar with Siv early the next morning, as the sun was climbing into the sky. The air had yet to truly warm up. Since it was so cold and I didn’t want Siv to catch a chill, I was having her sit on my lap. Her cute little butt was rubbing against me as she sat with her wings against my chest.

The only real issue I had with Siv snuggling against me like this was her tail and wings, which were big enough to cause some problems. Her tail was currently hanging off to the side. It was so long it extended nearly two meters behind her, resting on the ground. However, that and her wings made it so I couldn’t quite wrap my arms all the way around her. Instead of hugging her from behind, I was resting my hands on her hips.

I couldn’t complain. They were very nice hips.

The bartender was in the same place I saw him yesterday. I wondered if he ever left that bar. It looked like he was even using the same rag to wipe the countertop down. That said, he wasn’t paying much attention to his cleaning, but was instead staring at me and Siv.

While the bartender stared at us like we were oddities (we were, but I was trying to pretend there was nothing weird about a man with white skin and a dragon girl being in the Endless Desert), the bartender’s wife came out from inside of the kitchens with several trays of food.

She was a big woman. I wouldn’t call her fat, but her thighs were thick, she had large arms, and she was certainly not petite. Her long hair was styled in hundreds of small braids and traveled down to the middle of her back. Her outfit, like everyone else’s, was a simple linen dress and wooden sandals.

“Here you two are.” She set the tray down on our table. “Breakfast for two.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Thanks,” Siv imitated me, though I could tell most of her attention was on the food.

“Enjoy.”

The woman smiled at us once before heading back into the kitchen. The door shut behind her. Once she was gone, I turned back to the table just as Siv grabbed a fork and knife to begin eating. Our meal was falafels with eggs, cheese, and pita bread. There wasn’t any meat. Siv fortunately didn’t seem to mind as she slowly ate her food with the same refinement Fay often displayed when eating.

As Siv ate, I thought about what we needed to do. Our first order of business was to check out the auction house. I’d already gotten some directions from the bartender, so we would head their immediately after eating. After that, we’d go see Qawuin and let him know about our purpose here.

I wondered how Qawuin would react to knowing I was here to save a group of lamia that were going to be auctioned off by the Malik Family. On that note, it would probably be a good idea to learn more about the Malik Family as well. I knew they were one of the Four Great Families. However, that was all I knew.

A fork speared with a felafel suddenly appeared under my nose, the scent making me blink. Siv had turned a little so she could hold the fork out to me. It was only a little awkward because of her wings.

“Try some. It’s good,” she said.

“Is it? I guess I’ll have to try then.” I leaned down and put the whole falafel in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully as I leaned back. “It is pretty decent. I think the tahini sauce is what really makes the flavor stand out.”

“Mmm. I prefer meat or something sweet, but this is good too,” Siv agreed as she speared another falafel and stuck it in her mouth.

I let Siv eat most of the food, though she did feed me a few of the falafels from the first batch. We ended up buying three servings before Siv was satisfied. By the time we were ready to leave, the bartender had completely stopped pretending he was cleaning and openly gawked at Siv. Guess he’d never seen such a small woman pack away so much food before.

The auction house was located in the rich district where nobles lived. I was expecting to find it in the red light district or black market district, but since slavery was not illegal in the the Endless Desert, I suppose it meant there was no need to hide what they were doing. Some of their greatest customers were nobles anyway. After all, only a noble could afford to buy a lamia sex slave.

I wasn’t sure what I expected the auction house to look like. Large definitely. However, because the architecture here was so different from Nevaria, I had no idea as to what sort of style it would have. Mud bricks? Limestone? Would it look like a palace?

What I found when Siv and I traveled to the auction house was a massive structure made of limestone that reminded me of a temple. The numerous columns underneath the overhanging roof were two times thicker than the average person. Both volumes and roof had hieroglyphs drawn on them. Meanwhile, the building itself was made of two stories and appeared wider than it was long.

A lot of people were coming and going. Most of them were dressed in soft linen clothes. Bare-chested men with extravagant headdresses were followed by their wives and mistresses. Some of the men were quite young, but there were also older gentleman. I was impressed by how many different types of people were present, though I suppose even fat older men wanted someone who could please them. Thinking on it, I doubt there was a woman alive who’d sleep with some of these people unless they were slaves.

Two guards with pikes were blocking the entrance, only allowing people who showed them a necklace with some kind of symbol through. When Siv and I reached the entrance, they crossed their pikes to block us.

“Only people with the Malik Family’s crest are allowed entrance to the auction house,” they said.

“Is there no other way to get in?” I asked.

One of the men eyed Siv. I did not appreciate the lustful look in his eyes, though I tried to ignore it. Now wasn’t the time to get caught up in a fight.

“If you are able to pay the five hundred valis fee, you can get in,” the man said.

It sounded like they were trying to rip me off, but I honestly didn’t want to waste time standing here. Our appearance was drawing a crowd as well.

“Here,” I reached into my pouch, summoned five gold valis from my storage ring, and presented them to the man.

The man looked quite surprised to see me produce so many valis without a single thought. Both the guards eyes were bulging, in fact. Once the man confirmed that the money was indeed real, he retracted the pike. The other man hesitated for a moment before also retracting his pike.

“Our apologize, sir. You may proceed.”

“Thank you.”

I held out my arm for Siv, who quickly hugged it to her small chest.

We entered through the giant archway-like entrance. The space before us spread out, growing both taller and wider. The columns holding up the ceiling were about two times bigger than the ones outside. Guards were lining this hall, directing everyone except for a few people toward one of the hallways. Some of the people were led to an area off to the side. When I noticed how the people going into the side area were dressed far more extravagantly, I realized they were probably members of the Four Great Families.

It looked like the VIP booths were that way.

Siv and I moved with the flow and eventually found ourselves in some kind of amphitheater. That was what it looked like. It was a large room with tertiary rows shaped like a half-moon. The large stage was located at the bottom, the commoner seats (meant for lower nobles) came next, and then the balconies where the wealthiest and most prominent families sat were located at the very top. While the architecture was different, it had a similar setup to Stelys Valstine’s auction house back in Nevaria.

The room was bright thanks to the sunroof overhead. Light spilled in from above, illuminating the many faces already sitting down. As Siv and I found our seat in the center of one row, I studied the many people present.

Most of the people here were definitely nobles. All of them were dressed in refined clothes with more color than the standard off-white linen worn by peasants. Some of them wore small hats, but a few had fully decorated headdresses. One man even had a headdress that looked like a crown.

“Good evening, nobles young and old,” a voice said from the stage.

I turned my attention to find an old man with white hair standing on the sage, his corpulent stomach bulging over a belt hanging around his waist. He wore white and red linen robes over his body and a skirt of the same color. The belt was made of gold. That wasn’t the only jewelry he had on either. Several rings were on each finger, a necklace dangled near his chest, and his headdress was easily the most ostentatious I’d seen--even beating out King Menes’.

“Some of you may know me. Some of you may not,” the man continued. “I am Isotep Malik. I am the head of the Malik Family, owner of this slave auction, and your host for today.” He paused, a friendly smile on his face that made him seem benign. “But I am sure you’re not here to listen to this old man pontificate, so why don’t we get started? I’m sure today’s selection will awe everyone here.”

The man had a way with words. He seemed gentle and almost grandfatherly, but I didn’t let that fool me. This man owned an auction house that sold slaves. I understood slavery was legal here in the Endless Desert, but I stood by the believe that anyone who could sell of people as slaves was not benign or gentle.

Still wearing that gentle smile, Isotep had his people bring out the first batch of slaves. I was a little surprised when the slaves brought out first were not women but men. Most of the men were in good physical shape, though a few were definitely malnourished. It wasn’t long before I learned these slaves were meant to be used for manual labor or work as bodyguards.

Because there was a high need for manual labor, the male slaves were bought up fairly quickly--quicker than I anticipated even. Most of them went for around 1,000 valis a piece, though a few of the more muscular slaves went for 2,000. Two of the male slaves were actually Spiritualists who had reached the First State of Spiritualism and sold for 4,000.

As the slaves were sold, I wondered how slavery in the Endless Desert worked. It didn’t look like they had any manner of forcing compliance like the Sekbeists did. What was the stop the slaves from running away or killing their owners?

“Now the next slave we’re bringing out is a beautiful young girl from a small village. Her entire family was killed by lamia. Left with nowhere to go, she came to us and offered to sell herself.”

As Isotep spoke, a pair of guards escorted a young woman in chains to the front of the stage.

Just like Isotep said, the girl was indeed beautiful, though she was also very young. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen years old. Her dark skinned looked unblemished, her hair was glossy as though she’d taken a fresh shower, and the nails on her fingers and small bare feet had the unusual shine of polish. She was wearing a simple linen robe, but it was clean and looked soft. I guess the Malik Family was trying to make her enticing by washing her and dressing her up.

If only her expression wasn’t so miserable, she would have been more enchanting. As things stood, I could tell she was an unwilling participant in this auction, even if Isotep said she had come to them.

“The starting price for this beautiful young girl is 2,000 valis,” said Isotep, spreading his arms wide. “Are there any bidders?”

And thus the bidding began.

“2,500 valis!”

“3,000 valis!”

“4,000!”

“5,000!”

The price of the young girl rose quickly, though the expression of the girl herself did not change from one of hopeless despair. I felt a tug on my heartstrings. It hurt seeing such a young child standing there to be sold off. This was not right. This wasn’t. Yet even though I was right there, I could not do anything.

Siv was even worse off than me. She sat with her hands on her thighs, clenching the fabric of her dress so hard her white knuckles drained of blood. Her lips were red from her biting on them to keep from saying anything.

I reached out and placed a hand over hers, trying my best to offer her my support.

I knew we needed to acquire information, but I was already beginning to regret taking Siv to this auction house.

The girl’s bidding ended at 6,700 valis. The noble who bought her was a disgusting old man who stared at the girl with wanton lust in his eyes. Seeing that look as the poor child was taken off the stage made me grit my teeth.

“Eryk?” Siv looked at me, her gaze imploring. “Is there really… nothing we can do?”

I took a deep breath. “What would you have us do?”

“If we bought that girl and set her free…”

“She would just end up right back here at the auction house.” I shook my head. “Sure, we could buy her and set her free, but it seems like there’s no one who can care for her, especially if her family really is dead. With no one to support her, the chances of her being taken right back here and sold again are pretty much guaranteed. And we can’t take her with us either. All we’d be doing if we bought her was giving the girl a false hope. In some ways, that would be much more cruel than her being bought by someone who’d keep her.”

I felt like I was making excuses, and I hated myself for that. I hated that I was sitting here and watching as human lives were bought like commodities. To block out the feelings running through me, I tightly clutched Siv’s hand, who returned the gesture as if she was feeling the same helplessness I was.

“Our next slave is a young woman who belonged to a noble family,” Isotep announced. “Her family owed a debt to another family, but they could not pay it off, so they sold her to pay for their debt.”

I bit the inside of my lip as the guards brought out the next slave, a woman who struggled and fought with all her might to resist. She did not have the strength, however. Her hands, legs, and even neck had thick shackles around them, and chains connected each of the shackles together, which were further connected to the chain the guards were using to drag this woman.

“Let go of me! Let me go! My father didn’t sell me! He didn’t! He would never sell me!”

My throat felt thick as the woman, tears in her eyes, screamed from the stage. A compulsion rose within my chest. I could just destroy this entire auction house. If I burned this place to the ground and killed Isotep, it would solve all our problems right now.

But if I did that, I would become persona non grata in the Endless Desert. The Malik Family would no doubt place a bounty on my head and the heads of my wife. We’d be chased from one side of the country to the next, and I wasn’t sure even King Menes’s favor would be enough to keep that from happening. Worse still, if they learned of my allegiance to Queen Medusa and the lamia, war could break out between the two races.

Between a group of slaves and an entire race, I knew which was more important.

I closed my eyes and tried to block out the woman’s cries.

***

Isotep sighed as he walked into a spacious waiting room with several divans. A beautiful young maid dressed in skimpy clothing that looked more like strips of fabric came up and wiped the sweat from his face. He smiled as he reached behind her and grabbed a handful of the young thing’s butt. The girl squealed a little and smiled at him. It was a smile filled with fear, but that only made him more turned on.

“Come to my room later tonight,” he told her.

The maid paled but nodded at him before scurrying off.

“It seems you have become quite powerful,” an old voice said from one of the divans.

Isotep smiled at his guest as he walked further into the room. “Indeed, but it is still not enough. I want to acquire even more power. I want to become so powerful not even the Emperor can stand up to me--no, I want to become the Emperor of the Endless Desert.”

The old man sitting on the divan was not a man at all. His long snake tail traveled along the floor for at least seven meters. He was reclining against the seat as several maids dressed in the same scantily-clad outfits as the other one gave him a massage. Some massaged his shoulders, but others massaged his back, and quite a few were massaging his tail.

“I am pleased to see you are making good use of your time here, Muhammad. How many years has it been since we last met?”

“It has been long enough that your family name has spread across the entire Endless Desert,” Muhammad said. “The last time we met, you were but a young man with large ambitions.”

“And you were a feared warrior famed for your ruthlessness. Fortunate was with me the day you and I struck that deal so long ago.”

“Indeed.”

Muhammad arrived just the other day, having used the Third State of Spiritualism to travel nonstop to escape from any potential pursuers. Isotep did not know everything that had happened yet. When this lamia had shown up, he hid the man away in this auction house and let him do as he pleased.

Disgusting snake. If it wasn’t for your incredible power, I would have already dealt with you.

Isotep harbored the same hatred toward the lamia species as anyone else living in the Endless Desert, but it wasn’t because he was afraid of them. Lamia were simply beneath him. Their place was in the servitude of humans. Treating a lamia as an equal was a preposterous notion.

The same scantily-clad maid who wiped his sweat came up with a clay cup and a pitcher of water. She poured the water for him and set it on the table before his divan. Isotep paid her no mind for now. He would sate his lust later tonight.

“Perhaps now is the perfect time to tell me why you suddenly showed up,” Isotep continued. “I know of your amazing power, but even for a man of your strength and experience, traveling into Muqadas is very dangerous.”

“I did not have any other choice,” Muhammad said with a hiss. “The Red Scorpions made a fatal mistake and attacked a festival being held by Queen Medusa to honor her daughter’s return.”

“Queen Medusa’s daughter, eh?” Isotep raised the cup to his lips and took a drink. The water was cooling and refreshed his parched throat. He set the mug back down and continued. “As I recall, the Red Scorpions attempted to kidnap that child and sell her off years ago when she snuck out to a human village. They failed thanks to her bodyguards, but I’d been told she was injured. I’m surprised she is still alive.”

“So am I,” Muhammad said. “But not only is she alive, she has grown much stronger than before. I do not know how, but it seems she has reached the Third State of Spiritualism.”

“Oh?”

Isotep listened to Muhammad tell him about how Lin arrived with several humans in tow. He was surprised to learn that Lin had married and that her husband was a human, but he was even more surprised to discover the three other women this human, this man named Eryk, married had all reached the Third State of Spiritualism as well.

“You say they defeated the Red Scorpions in a matter of seconds? It sounds like this group is very powerful indeed.” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “I also think I know who you are talking about.”

“Do you? Have you encountered them before?”

“Not me personally.” Isotep traced the lip of his cup with his index finger. “But my eldest son has seen them once before. They were present when Ammon’s wedding ceremony to the daughter of that foolish man, Alshams, was interrupted. Thanks to that interruption, my son failed to marry Ronia Shuruq and now the Shuruq Family’s wealth is out of my reach.”

According to some of the spies Isotep had hidden throughout various cities and villages, the young man called Zane had traveled with a group of powerful Spiritualists and trained under them. This group consisted of a lamia, three humans, and a woman of an unknown race with leathery wings and a scaly tail. His spies reported that Zane trained under this group and managed to go from some no-name bodyguard to a Spiritualist who had reached the Second State of Spiritualism in just a month.

That last part was probably a rumor, but the part about Zane traveling with a group of powerful Spiritualists was not.

“I have it on good authority that this group actually did a great service to King Menes,” Isotep said. “I do not know exactly what that service was, but it has something to do with the Sea People. They had been giving us some trouble recently. However, after the man called Eryk went out to sea with his women, the Sea People threat vanished.”

There was a lot of mystery surrounding the man known as Eryk. He came to Muqadas for only a few days, created a huge ruckus with his lamia wife and the girl with wings on her back, and then disappeared just as quickly. At the time, Isotep had not been able to do anything. Had opportunity permitted it, he would have tried to kidnap that lamia and strange winged girl to sell them off as slaves.

“I could not tell you much about them.” Muhammad shrugged his shoulders. “All I can tell you is they are very powerful. If you want to try and kill them, you’ll want to hire one of the mercenary groups like the Iron Talons. If I’m not mistaken, they have someone among their rank who has also reached the Third State of Spiritualism.”

“I have no intention of doing anything right now.” Isotep laughed. “Besides, we do not even know where they are.”

Just then, someone entered the room and wandered over to him. It was another maid. Isotep did not employ any men because he did not like them. The maid leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

“Our spies have reported that the man called Eryk Veiger is here with that winged girl. You asked us to let you know whenever they arrive.”

“Where are they now?” asked Isotep.

“They just left the auction house,” she said again.

“Ho… so they came all this way and even visited my auction house. Are they in the market for a slave? Or perhaps they are looking for someone?” He looked at Muhammad, who had yet to realize what they were talking about. It didn’t even look like he was paying attention. Good. “Send some of my men to follow him. They are not to engage in combat under any circumstances. I just want someone to watch these two, find out what they are here for, and report back to me.” He paused. “However, should circumstances permitted, they are allowed to try and capture the girl he is with.”

“Yes, Master.”

The woman retracted her head, bowed, and left the room.

Isotep leaned back on his divan and spoke with Muhammad some more. Thoughts of Eryk and his harem were put out of his mind for now, which was currently filled with thoughts on what he’d do tonight when he had that pretty little slave in his bed.

***

I had to get directions to Qawuin’s house. I learned from asking some patrolling soldiers that it was located near the edge of Muqadas, close to the sea.

They had been reluctant to tell me where his house was at first, but then I presented them with a medal King Menes had given me and they became much more accommodating. Come to think of it, I wonder if I could have used that to enter the auction house? Well, it was probably better that I not use it too much. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.

We took a chariot to reach it. Siv was even more quiet during the chariot ride than she normally was. Whenever I looked in her direction, all I’d see was a pale young woman who appeared unsettled. I think seeing those slaves at the auction house reminded her of when she’d been enslaved by the Sekbeists.

Qawuin’s home was not large, but it wasn’t small either. From the outside, it looked like a well-off home made of stone with two stories, shaped like a square, and with several high windows meant for light. A wall was built around the home. The front entrance through the wall was closed off with a wooden door.

Siv and I stared at the door, wondering how we were going to get Qawuin’s attention, when a beautiful woman in her early thirties appeared before us. She was not human. Her snake tail moved along the ground in a zigzag pattern. Dressed in a simple skirt that ended just above where her tail met the ground and a top that showcased her stomach, this woman possessed an elegant bearing and wore a gentle smile.

“Oh, dear. I was not expecting guests,” she said, stopping in front of us. She was carrying a basket full of food in her arms. She must have just come back from shopping. “Might I ask who you are and what you are doing here?”

“I’m Eryk. This is my wife, Siv.” I gestured toward Siv, watching as the woman’s eyes widened only a little, though it was hard to know if she was surprised because of my name or Siv’s appearance. “I wanted to speak with Qawuin if possible.”

“Eryk? Could you be Eryk Veiger?” The woman smiled and tilted her head. “My husband has told me about you. He’s not present right now, but he should be back later this evening. Would you like to come in and wait for him? I am not great at entertaining guests, but I can at least provide you with some refreshments.”

“We would appreciate that,” I said for me and Siv.

“In that case, please come in.”

The lamia slithered past us, opened the door, and allowed us inside.

We followed her into the front yard, which featured grass and several potted plants. It looked like either this woman or Qawuin was growing a small garden. That was pretty impressive for a simple soldier. It was possible to see from the display of wealth that he was favored by King Menes.

“My children aren’t here either. They have school right now. If they were, you’d be hearing a lot more noise coming from my house,” the lamia said.

“Are they a pair of troublemakers?” I asked.

“Oh, yes.” Despite calling her kids trouble, she wore a doting smile, the sort most mother’s seemed to have when they were talking about their kids. “They aren’t terrible, but they are definitely rambunctious. My son just turned eight years old not long ago, and my daughter is now six. Ah! Forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Neisha.”

We were led up to Neisha and Qawuin’s house, which was accessed via a ramp. The inside was cool and consisted of what seemed like a typical layout. There was the front room, or common area, which was where guests first entered the house. The living room was where Neisha directed us to sit. It was filled with pillows, a table, and a shelf with several books. There were only six, but the fact that they had books at all was impressive. With resources being scarce here, the price for books must be astronomical.

“Please feel free to have a seat,” Neisha instructed. “I’ll prepare some tea.”

Once we sat down on a pair of large pillows made from leather and cotton, Siv went straight for my lap, placing her head on it and looking up at me with her emerald eyes.

“Sorry.” I placed my hand on her head and began rubbing it. “I know you are shaken. Sorry for taking you to the auction house.”

“It is okay,” Siv murmured softly. She closed her eyes and relaxed her body so completely I thought she’d fallen asleep. I only learned otherwise when she began talking. “I know we didn’t have a choice. We need to learn more about the slave auction if we’re going to rescue those lamia… but seeing those men and women being sold off really hurt. I don’t like that we didn’t do anything to save them.”

“Neither do I,” I admitted with a sigh.

“Do you think… we might be able to save them at some point?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” A frown appeared on my face as I thought about those people and their circumstances. “The Endless Desert is the only place on the entire continent that allows slavery. It is legal here, so they are technically not breaking any laws. Even King Menes employs slaves. If we tried to mount a rescue or abolish slavery, we would be labeled criminals and forced to flee. Our actions would not save anyone.”

“But if we bought them ourselves and then freed them…” Siv tried.

I smiled sadly and shook my head. “What would we do then? Take them with us? You know we cannot do that. If we bought them, we would not be able to care for them. We don’t have enough room in our wagon, and we are not going to remain here in the Endless Desert for more than two years at the most.”

We couldn’t take them with us, not only because we were traveling to another country to do something potentially dangerous, but also because we didn’t have the resources to care for so many other people. Maybe we could have bought one or two slaves. However, then we’d have to ask ourselves which slave deserved to be free and which didn’t. In the end, if we were going to free one slave, we might as well free every slave, but we didn’t have the power or resources to do that.

Siv understood that just as I did, which was why she closed her eyes and said no more on the subject.

Neisha came back into the room several minutes later with a tray in hand. There were two cups filled with chilled tea. It was a type of barley tea. I was surprised to find it was almost cold enough to be mistaken for ice water.

“We have a small well in the kitchen,” she explained at seeing my shock. “Qawuin dug it for me when I mentioned how hard it was to get water from the communal well.”

“He sounds like a good husband.”

At my compliment, Neisha’s entire countenance changed, eyes becoming softer, a smile lighting up her entire face. That was the look of a woman who was in love.

“He is a wonderful husband.”

We spoke for a bit. Nothing we talked about was consequential. During the time I spoke with Neisha, Siv fell asleep with her head on my lap. My thighs were falling asleep, but I didn’t dare shift for fear of waking her. Siv’s sleeping face was simply too precious and I wanted to admire it for as long as I could.

“Mom! We’re home!” a loud shout came from the common area. This shout was followed by the sound of stamping feet.

A pair of children raced into the living room, one boy and one girl. Both children had the same dark skin as everyone from the Endless Desert. They were wearing linen clothes that looked finer than what peasants wore but not as refined as something a noble might wear. The boy had short hair while the girl’s was longer.

The boy was human.

The girl was a lamia.

Both stopped upon seeing me and Siv. Oddly enough, I expected the girl to be the one who was more afraid, but it was the boy who hid behind his sister.

“Aladdin. Jasmine. This is Eryk and Siv. They are friends of your father and helped him out with some trouble he was dealing with. Go on. Say hello.”

While the boy--Aladdin, I guess--remained behind his sister, Jasmine slithered up to us and offered a polite bow.

“It’s very nice to meet you. My name is Jasmine.”

“Likewise. It is a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Eryk.”

I introduced myself by bowing politely from where I was seated. This girl was awfully polite for such a young child. Most of the kids I knew were fairly unruly.

“Aladdin?” Neisha said, prodding the boy to greet us. However, Aladdin continued to hide behind his younger sister and looked at me from around her shoulder.

“He seems shy,” I said.

“I’m sorry about him.” Neisha smiled apologetically. “He has always been bad at meeting new people.”

“It’s fine. Please don’t worry about it. Siv here is also really shy when it comes to meeting new people as well.” I traced the cheek of the sleeping dragon girl on my lap. Siv twitched several times but didn’t wake up.

“Your wife… she is a dragon, right?” asked Neisha.

“That’s right.”

“I remember hearing stories of dragons back when I lived in the lamia village,” Neisha said, her voice containing awe and wonder. “However, our legends say the dragons went extinct a long time ago.”

“They aren’t extinct,” I told her. “There are a group of dragons living in the Northern Plains. That said, dragons are a very insular group and don’t mingle with other races, so they are rarely seen.”

“You must have done a lot of traveling to be able to meet one,” she said.

“I have traveled a fair bit,” I admitted.

I continued talking to Neisha, and Jasmine also asked me a bunch of questions when she realized I’d been to places other than the Endless Desert. I told the pair all kinds of stories, from the time I spent in the Northern Plains to my journeys through the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Out of all the people there, Aladdin’s eyes sparkled the brightest as I spoke. Yet he still refused to talk to me.

I guess he really was shy.

Siv woke up before Qawuin arrived. Even after waking, she remained close by, resting her head on my shoulders. When Qawuin walked into the living room and found us sitting there, drinking barley tea, he paused and stared in surprise instead of greeting us.

“Daddy!” Aladdin shouted as he sat up and hugged his father. That seemed to snap Qawuin out of his stupor, as he placed a hand on the boy’s head and smiled.

“Welcome back, Husband,” Neisha greeted her husband with a kiss that he gladly returned.

“I’m home,” Qawuin said with a smile before he looked at me. “Eryk, I did not expect to see you again so soon.”

“Neither did I,” I admitted. “Sorry for dropping in unannounced like this. I came to see you, but you weren’t home.”

“I’m guessing my wife let you in,” he said as he slowly walked further into the living room and sat down on one of the pillows. Aladdin sat right next to him. He seemed much more at ease now that his dad was present. Neisha went back to where she’d been sitting by Jasmine, who remained quiet as we talked.

“She did,” I said. “Your wife is very nice.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Qawuin smiled a bit before his expression became a little less congenial. “I had not realized you were back.”

“I probably wouldn’t have come back so soon, but circumstances came up that made it so I had no choice but to return here.”

“And what are those circumstances?” he asked.

“Why don’t we wait until it’s later to speak of that,” I said with a smile, glancing at his kids. The light of understanding filled his eyes. What I had to talk about was not something his children should hear.

“In that case, why don’t you and Siv stay for dinner?” he suggested.

“That sounds like a great idea. Thank you very much,” I said in return.

I wished there was something I could do or say to put him at ease. It was easy from how tense his shoulders were that he was wary of my reason for being here. Unfortunately, my purpose for this visit was indeed something that would cause him a lot of stress.

I’d have to find some way to make up for interrupting his daily life like this.

I just didn’t know what I could do yet.