Triple Strength

240. Waiouru: Tabitha

I am the heroine of Skog, who led her team to take down the Dragon farters and stop the invasion. Now that hero worship is transferring to Wireimu. Bloody typical. At least it is only twenty soldiers. So far. The story is growing.

My job is to keep them away from Wiremu. He is travelling as Quinn to save any confusion when we get to Waiouru. That Captain Ashbee is the worst. She is definitely looking for more than “details for her report.” I told her bluntly that Quinn and Kelda were together. She took one look at Kelda’s scars and blindness and figured she wouldn’t have a problem replacing her. Idiot. I almost left Wiremu to put her in her place, but he would be quite brutal. I took pity on her and made sure she realised that Kelda was the same Kelda that was heiress to the Duke of Hrothgar. That gave her pause—the wrath of a future Duchess. I hope the pause lasts until we get to Waiouru. There is no way that Kelda’s eye for detail missed this, and my Spaitial Awareness has spotted Liten flitting around masquerading as a sparrow.

Wiremu said he gained a level in his Warrior Class in his duel and several Skill levels. Most Notably, Analyse bonds went to the Journeyman level. He said Bond Care went up two levels, but that only put it at mid-Apprentice. I Levelled Shadow Predator in the Dragon Farter fight but not much else. I got more levels toying with the wolfkin. I guess that shows our different strengths. I need to find somebody to mess with to level. Maybe I will practise on an annoying Captian.

Waiouru was almost as large as Kirghiz. We were escorted directly to Duchess Irena. She came out to greet us straight away. She had obviously been briefed on Skog, and, of course, I was the Countess Auditor with direct contact with the King. The same King she is wanting to replace.

Duchess Irena was a graceful middle-aged woman. I must admit I didn’t know much about her. I do remember hearing somewhere she had not spent time in the army, which meant the Western Dukes saw her as unsuitable to be the next monarch. She was well-spoken and graceful. She was definitely experienced in politics.

The Duchess insisted we stay with her in her mansion. Her mansion rivalled the king's palace in size and luxury. When she realised Kelda was the Duke's daughter, she made a big fuss.

“I remember you when I visited Hrothgar almost twenty years ago, and you were four or five, running around after your brother.” Then she was all business about getting the eye specialist to come as soon as possible, and there was a skin specialist who might be able to do something about the scars. She was a take-charge type of lady.

We got the mounts and bonds sorted. They had nothing suitable for Težka, but that was not unusual. Oh, the bliss of soaking in a hot bath. Bubble, oils, and many servants were used to keep the hot water coming. It has been too long. As I staggered back to my room, I passed Wiremu entering Kelda’s room.

“Just going to wash her back,” he said with a wink. I am pretty sure there were servants for that.

Back in my room, there were clothes laid out for me in the local styles. Loose-fitting clothes in bright colours were the local style. Waiouru was tropical, with the prevailing wind blowing off the Great Desert, keeping it hot and dry.

I went for a walk as the Duchess was located in the central area. Waiouru was a major trading hub with key caravan routes converging on it from the desert. Similarly, caravans came and went constantly from the Kingdom side. It was a huge melting pot of peoples and cultures, with wares from all over the continent. I made a note to message Tāttā as Elemental Traders has to get a major base set up here. This was my kind of city.

We joined the Duchess for dinner. It was a casual affair with us and some of her key people lounging around and servants bringing around various dishes. They eat later here than in other parts of the kingdom. They wait for the sun to set and eat outdoors in the cool of the evening.

Duchess Irena was open and friendly, as were her key staff and relatives that joined us. It was a very pleasant change. I am starting to think Irena and I could work well together, which is probably her plan.

The days merged from one to another with relaxing and shopping. The only downside was that Težka was always uncomfortably hot and grumpy. This made Modrica grumpy as well. In contrast, Tāoke was loving it. This was his native climate. Wiremu said he started out as a Desert Viper. I know Wiremu spent a few years at a quarry, but I didn’t bother to find out more.

Kelda had her medical appointments with mixed results. There is damage to the optic nerve. One eye is worse than the other. The Eye Specialist wanted to go in and cut out the damage and regrow the nerve before they try to regrow the eye. There are significant risks to this. They will be cutting very close to the brain for a start. She is not going to rush into it. The chances of success are better for the left eye than for the right.

The skin specialist was also mixed. I joined Kelda for this as I also have a lot of scars that could be better. We got some oils and creams that would soften the skin and make the scars less noticeable. For some of Kelda’s, they suggested cutting some of the worst of it out and using other skin from her body to replace it, and it would regrow and be much less noticeable. She is thinking of having that done for some of her facial scars.

The clever skin specialist also brought along a makeup specialist with all sorts of powders and tricks to hide scars and change your look. Kelda and I both spent a small fortune with the lady. The advantage of makeup is you don’t need to keep a skill running for a long time. Kelda’s Veneer is particularly hard to keep going after a couple of hours. I learned a lot, and makeup can be done a lot more subtly and cleverly than how I had used it in the past. The skin specialist was very pleased, so I am sure she is getting a cut from the makeup artist.

Wiremu decided to delay our departure for a month to be there when Kelda went through her skin grafts. Kelda is holding off from a decision about her eyes. She is returning to Hrothgar for a second opinion from the specialist there. I am not surprised Kelda is leaving us, and I don’t think Wiremu is either, although I can tell he is very unhappy about it. The month is good for me, though, as I will have time to get a warehouse and some basic staff. I also got that eye specialist to look at Težka’s eye. It was gouged out by a talon, rather than being filled with acid. All the connections are still functioning, so we regrew it over the month we were here.

Quinn has been in seclusion since arriving in Waiouru. The rumours have spread, and everybody wants to know this wonder kid, especially the military. Irena has been good at sheltering him. While Quinn is hiding, Wild Bill has been out having a riot with Rodion. Those two have got closer since the fight. I even spotted Dianne in the Bazaar looking at all the exotic wares with Kelda. They were holding hands. It was cute.

Getting to know Irena has been good for me. She is from a Merchant background and is very shrewd in all her dealings. I think she would make a very good queen after the hairy bastard quits or is killed. The kingdom could be very prosperous under her. Starting with a quarter of the Dukes against you is a difficult start, but I wish her the best of luck.

Quinn had to make an appearance for our medal ceremony. We all got dressed fancy, but we had to leave most of the bonds behind. Težka and Cōmpēṟi were the problem size-wise even though they were main contributors to the fight. The bonds didn’t care, especially as I bought out a local food distributor, Ruku used his Refreshing Mists, and they stayed in an emptied-out cool store chewing on the bones of some giant desert lizard. They had the best day out of all of us.

Wiremu decided that Tāoke should come to the ceremony. Quinn was known to have a snake bond, and if he wandered around with a poisonous snake on his shoulder, it would deter a lot of people from hassling him.

The private ceremony was held first in a side area of the grand city hall. Duchess Irena was there representing the Kingdom. General Viggo was the army commander, and he had two of his Colonels and four majors present, all dressed in their parade best with their medals. I was presented with the Kirghiz Medal of Honour, which is the highest award they give out, usually after you have died heroically. All the others were given the Kirghiz Hero Medal, which is pretty close to the same thing.

The General gave a speech about how I had upheld the highest. virtues and ideals of the Kingdom and was an example for all citizens, and especially Nobles and Officers. I found that hilarious, as I wasn’t even officially a kingdom citizen. I was born and bred Imperial. I was being honoured under the name Skygge which was a forged identity. back in the goblin days, and it was created to facilitate my thieving. Yes, these are the virtues and ideals everyone should follow. They have done me well.

I am not sure who the General was aiming his speech at here. There were less than twenty of us here. Anyway, he wound down, and we moved through to the main hall for the public medal presentation. There was to be a celebration meal afterwards. Rodion and Runa were trying to talk Ruku and Wiremu into drinking the bar dry.

We trooped onto the stage in front of the Whose Who of Waiouru to be rewarded for taking down a notorious bandit group that had evaded the entire southern army. I am convinced there is something fishy going on there. Then the General repeated his speech from before with a few minor changes, which clarified who it was really written for. At least Irena’s speech was unique.

Pomp and ceremony over, it was time to mix and mingle with the nobles and rich elite of the city. This was my time to deal. I was mentally rubbing my hands at the thought of the coins I could extract. A lot of the nobles came bearing gifts. I kept an eye on Wiremu / Quinn for a while, but Kelda was sticking to him like glue, and she was experienced at dealing with nobles. He would be fine.

I really thought I would be fine as well. Better than fine, I was hunting coin. Foolish me. I was the hunted. Apparently, I was the most eligible bachelorette in the city. Everybody wanted me to date them or just straight-up marry them. The gifts came with insistent requests for a date. I am sure half the people who asked me were already married, some with their spouses standing next to them.

One elderly dude approached me. He was old and wrinkled and limped with a cane. He must have been well over 150. I figured I was going to get matched to a grandchild, but no! He wanted a date. He gave me a cheeky grin and a wink, “I’ve been a widower for ten years, but I was married for eighty happy years, don’t you know? I know how to show you a good time!” He looked quite the character, actually, and I was tempted to agree to spite everyone else. He would certainly have some good stories.

In the end, it felt like I was the one to escape. I did accept the invite to the old codgers' birthday. He was about to turn 180, so it was a real milestone. Together we would have a lot of fun winding people up and starting rumours. He can keep his hands to himself, though.