A Dragon's Tale Ch. 52

"Sir, might I point out that Sarah has a demon and you fell in love with her." Alana said.

"Yeah, but it was different when her demon came out." He replied after thinking about it for a few seconds. "I felt unsettled around her yes, but my dragon instincts weren't screaming for me to leave until her demon manifested. That possessed man that I fought wasn't like that; he clearly wasn't suppressing the demon at all. I wasn't too bothered by Sarah until her demon came out."

"I know what you mean." Beth said. "I met one and I felt frozen in fear, although..." The blonde stopped and cocked her head to one side.

"What?" Tee asked.

"The men around me didn't." The blonde replied. "They interacted with the demon like he was a normal person, even though he didn't have a face."

"Perhaps they couldn't tell he was a demon?" Rachel suggested.

"Maybe he was using a disguise enchantment of some kind." Alana added.

"The Book of Light says that Saidow's minions can even disguise themselves as agents of light." Taloni spoke up. "Demons must be able to disguise themselves."

"Dragons must be able to sense them." Kendra said. "I've hunted a lot of dragons and they have an almost preternatural connection with magic; it's part of them in a greater way than with any other species, even the Fey races. Maybe that's why they can sense them."

"Ladies, did you feel anything different from Sarah?" Ethan asked. "Anything unsettling?"

They all shook their heads or said they didn't.

"Hmm." He frowned. "You know, I think Kendra is right. Beth was terrified of the demon much like I was, but maybe that's normal. Maybe dragons aren't more scared of demons than anyone else. Maybe everything is scared of them and dragons are simply able to sense them when others can't."

"That would make sense Master." Taloni shuddered slightly. "They are pure evil. I feel bad for all the men who are being forced to host demons, like the one you fought."

"What makes you think they are being forced?" Kendra asked.

Everyone looked at her.

"I have met many men who would happily sell their souls or make a deal with a demon to gain the power that these possessed men have." The former Aldmiri continued. "He might have been forced, but I think it's more likely that he wanted it."

"You... you can't be serious." The Fey teen said with wide eyes and aghast disbelief written all over her face.

"I am." Kendra replied in a deadly serious tone. "In fact, I would wager that they were forced to compete with other equally unsavory men -- likely in a fight to the death -- to become demon possessed."

Everyone stared at her.

"That's horrible." Beth shuddered.

"You think there's more than one?" Selene asked.

"I do." The raven-haired woman nodded. "The way Ethan described him, I would bet a lot of coin that he belongs to some lord's intelligence service. He sounded like an asset who was well-trained, which means someone trained him. And if there's one like that, I would wager there are more. Probably not an army, maybe not even a dozen, but I'm sure there's more."

"Suddenly, Lady Ekthros is sounding more likely." Selene said.

"Or Lord Farbrottan since it happened in Ivernia." Kendra suggested. "Though, I've heard he's a bit more superstitious so he would likely act through an intermediary. Those two are the most likely options."

"Um..." Rachel said hesitantly. "Neither of you mentioned my father as being likely." Her voice was full of hope again, though also tinged with doubt.

"Certainly not personally." Ethan said carefully. "He could be involved through an intermediary though."

"And we're back to Lady Ekthros, though we don't have any evidence." Kendra pointed out. "I would eliminate her in a heartbeat if Luminar Kossel hadn't called in every favor that I owe him to try to bring her in alive."

Ethan nodded, remembering the strange request that the luminar had not only made of Kendra, but himself as well since Kossel had saved him in Arcanum. From most people, he would've assumed that Kendra's statement about killing her was hyperbole. From Kendra though...

Hmm.

That was less clear.

"We don't know for sure." Alana said to Rachel. "However Lady Ekthros is more likely behind the demon-possessed men than your father.

"Why couldn't it be Lord Farbrottan as Kendra suggested?" Selene asked. "I'm not saying it is, but from what I've heard, Narlotten is a relatively peaceful, prosperous lorddom while Ivernia is... well, Ivernia. Lord Farbrottan is obviously intentionally squeezing Ivernia for every copper he can get out of them, so he's clearly evil enough."

"Or perhaps they are working together on it?" Kendra suggested. "Remember, we saw Narlotten soldiers embedded on the Ivernian airships."

"At the end of the day, we really don't know." Ethan said, then added. "We've been saying that about a lot of things in this conversation."

"Master, I know we're discussing important things, but you still need to meet with the orcs and haven't eaten breakfast yet." Taloni said. "I wouldn't want you to miss a meal, so maybe we could talk more about this later after you've eaten since we're mostly guessing right now?"

"Sounds good." He replied, then paused. "How about the rest of you go ahead for now; I'd like to talk to Kendra for a minute first."

The raven-haired woman sighed. "They don't need to leave; I know your speech by heart."

"My speech?"

She nodded. "You were going to tell me that I'm your good girl and that I'm not as bad as I think I am." Her tone betrayed nothing about her emotions. Frankly, it was almost unnerving how she could completely conceal every hint of emotion at a moment's notice.

She continued. "You were going to tell me that you love me regardless of how bad I think I am, and then reiterate that I'm not as bad as I think I am. Weren't you?"

"Uh..." He stammered.

"Wow." Selene chuckled. "She's got your number."

"I really appreciate that you think I'm good, even though I'm not." Kendra continued looking at him. "But until you've done what I've done..." She swallowed. "I could go to Paliso to take care of Lord Farbrotten and it wouldn't even bother me. I would sleep perfectly that night. It wouldn't weigh on my conscience, it wouldn't make me sullen or depressed, and it wouldn't even bother me afterwards. It should bother me, but it wouldn't."

"Hmm." Ethan made an expression that was halfway between a thoughtful frown and smile as he noticed something about what Kendra had said. "So, you're saying that it bothers you that it doesn't bother you?"

"Close enough." She shrugged.

"That wasn't always the case, was it?" He asked with a small smile.

"No."

"So, my good girl is getting better then, isn't she?" He eyed her pointedly.

Kendra raised one of her eyebrows and frowned.

"And Ethan is now on the scoreboard." Selene said in a slightly comical sports newscaster voice as she held an imaginary microphone.

"Kendra." Taloni spoke up. "The Book of Light says that if you repent and turn away from evil, Illuminar will forgive you."

"I know." Kendra smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "But being handed a pardon is merely confirmation that I was guilty in the first place."

There was silence for several seconds.

Then Selene broke it.

She stood up, walked over to the bed, and sat down next to Kendra. She put her arm around her friend and sighed. "Kendra, sometimes I wish you weren't so smart." The Brazilian woman looked at her pointedly. "But your objection is overruled; we still care and think you are a good person."

"We do." Taloni agreed, followed by everyone else.

"I'm glad you all think that." Kendra replied with a small but genuine smile. "I wish that--"

"Nope." Selene interrupted, holding her hand up to silence her friend. "The prosecutor has been found in contempt of court and won't be allowed to bring any more evidence against herself."

Kendra actually managed a sound that was halfway between an exhale and a chuckle. "You're a good friend."

"Takes one to know one." The Brazilian woman replied pointedly.

"Thank you." The dragon huntress replied quietly.

"You're welcome." Selene replied. "Now, Ethan's breakfast and then orcs; your self-flagellation session has been canceled for today."

"Okay." Kendra nodded, and Ethan thought that she did actually look like she was feeling better.

*Thank you.* Ethan thought to Selene privately. He hadn't had a clue what to say to his fifth wife and was glad that the caramel-haired beauty had stepped in.

*Any time, especially for Kendra.* She replied.

* * *

"I split the dough into a few pieces and braided them together." Sarah replied to Marge's question. "I thought it looked better that way. Is that okay?" It was midmorning and they were preparing lunch for the castle in the kitchens, so Sarah had decided to try something visually a little different with the bread. Marge had let her experiment in the kitchen before and never had a problem with it so she wasn't worried; worst case Marge would tell her not to make the bread that way again.

"It's fine." The head cook chuckled and shook her head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're aiming for my job."

"Of course not." Sarah replied. "I... I've actually been meaning to talk to you about something."

"Oh?"

The innkeeper's daughter nodded. "I don't know if you know this, but I'm betrothed. He's back in Ivernia and as much as I like working here in the kitchens, I need to save enough coin so I can make my way back to him."

"A wife's place is with her husband." Marge nodded, but she was frowning. "I don't suppose you could convince him to move to Karnas?"

"I don't think so." Sarah replied. "He's... well he's not really the type to move unless he had a really good reason." She was putting it lightly. Rindrin was a good man, but he was stuck in his ways and she was pretty sure the idea of moving out of that little outpost had never even occurred to him. She had once thought that perhaps Lady Ekthros could provide enough incentive, but that obviously wouldn't happen now.

"Well, you'll always have a job as long as I'm cooking here." Marge said gruffly. "Come back if something happens."

"I would love to." Sarah replied honestly. Working in the kitchens here was wonderful and she could think of nothing she'd like more than to make food like this forever. Well, maybe she'd want a break occasionally and she did want to have children, but working in a kitchen like this would be wonderful.

The head cook bustled away and Fiona walked up as soon as she did. Conner was strapped to her chest as usual and he was awake and alert, looking around with undeniable interest in his baby eyes.

"I heard that you were telling her about your leaving." The copper-haired woman said. "How was she taking it?"

"She told me that I was always welcome back." Sarah replied. "Honestly, I don't want to leave. I love cooking here, plus I have you and Amy."

Conner made a cheerful noise.

"And I have you too Conner." Sarah beamed.

"Ah, I see you're listing the cooking before your friends." Fiona said with a wink and suppressed laughter. "I'm seeing where your priorities are."

Sarah laughed.

Fiona moved a bit closer and lowered her voice. "I would rather you were staying as well, but you might want to be leaving sooner than later."

"Oh?"

"Aye. I'll be hating to see you go, but--" Fiona hesitated, then looked around, moved closer, and lowered her voice even more. "You were telling me about when you brought breakfast to you-know-who recently. I'm thinking that she might be guessing that you know what she is up to."

"Oh." Sarah frowned.

Fiona had a point.

Sarah hadn't been as careful as she probably should've been when talking to Lady Ekthros the other morning. She didn't think that she'd given away that she knew the 'lady' was trying to create demonic soldiers, but she certainly hadn't endeared herself to Lady Ekthros.

"You don't think she'd try something, do you?"

"I'm not knowing for certain." Fiona whispered in response. "I don't think she could be doing anything here in Karnas without raising suspicion, but she's a wily one; she might be coming up with something."

"I hope not. I really do like it here, especially with you and Amy."

"Aye." The copper-haired woman smiled.

* * *

Ethan finished wolfing down his early lunch as quickly as he could without choking on it. He wanted to be ready to go long before it was time to meet the orcs, even though he was pretty sure they didn't keep a tight schedule.

"They're pretty great if I do say so myself." Selene said, holding up one of the new fabric shields after demonstrating how it worked.

"That's brilliant!" He beamed. "I could kiss you!"

"Please don't." The Brazilian woman replied, her tone serious and almost irritated.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head but didn't explain further. Kendra gave her an odd look though.

*Is she okay?* He thought to his raven-haired wife.

*She's been a little out of sorts since the whole birthday thing.* Kendra replied.

*Okay, thanks.* He made a mental note to ask more about that later. He couldn't tell what Selene was annoyed about though. She'd made it clear that she wasn't interested in being his wife and that she wanted to go back to Earth to become an FBI agent, so he wasn't sure why she was annoyed.

"Sir, it just occurred to me that we should tell Elder Goman about that demon-possessed man who attacked you." Alana spoke up, probably to fill the slightly awkward silence. "I need to send him a letter anyway since he offered to provide travel arrowheads and dragon-leather shafts suited to my travel bow's poundage, and I need to let him know how much that is."

"Good idea." He nodded and then wolfed down his last bite. Since he couldn't talk, he simply thought to everyone. *Alana and Rachel, could you two take care of that?*

He gave the redheaded teen a wink that made her blush, but she nodded.

He finished chewing and stood up.

The sun wasn't high overhead yet, but it was getting there. He looked around the Argo and at his family and felt a smile creep onto his face.

"What?" Beth asked.

"You; all of you. This ship." He smiled wider as he looked around. "It's amazing how much it feels like home. I haven't had a place that felt like a home since I moved out of my parents' house. It feels good."

"It does." Kendra said quietly, though she had a smile on her face.

"It's wonderful and I love it here, but once we start having kids..." Alana looked around as she put her hand over her womb. "There's not a lot of room to raise a family on the Argo, as much as I love it."

"True." He frowned. "We'll have to find a house or plot of land somewhere to put down roots. Not sure where, but from what you ladies have said, Timarou might be a good choice. I hear the lord and his ladies are nice." He winked.

Everyone chuckled, but the wood elf gave him a piercing look. "You don't want to live in Timarou; you want to live in Ivernia."

"Is it that obvious?"

Everyone looked at him, most raised their eyebrows, shook their heads, or made some other indication of disbelief.

"Only to someone with eyes." Selene said with amusement, but her tone was slightly less jovial than usual.

Interesting.

He checked the position of the sun and then looked at his first wife. "Well, I think I have just enough time to see you demonstrate that travel bow at full poundage."

She grinned.

Not long afterwards, Raklan hauled one of their archery targets up from the hold and placed it at the front of the Argo while everyone gathered by the captain's cabin behind Alana.

"Okay, here goes." The wood elf said before moving faster than Ethan usually saw her move. One of her hands flew to the front of her 'belt' while the other slipped into the semi-concealed pocket of her dress. She snapped the travel bow out from its belt form just as she extracted a coiled travel arrow, the arrow uncoiling as soon as it left her pocket. With practiced ease and precision, she nocked the arrow and let it fly.

Ethan triggered his enhanced sense just before it released, wanting to catch it.

It wasn't good.

The bow was obviously too powerful for the arrow. Far too powerful. The enchanted leather shaft bent under the weight, flexing significantly as the immensely powerful bow suddenly brought its full power to bear on the relatively thin arrow meant for a much weaker bow.

Ethan saw it wobble its way off the bow, continuing to flex back and forth like a spring as it tried to straighten from the immense forces that had just been applied to it. It eventually did straighten itself out just before impacting the target, but all that oscillation had a predictable effect on the accuracy. Alana hissed with a grimace as she saw where the arrow landed: the very edge of the four-foot-wide target.

Oops.

That wasn't good.

He looked at her and she looked at him, her face still twisted into a grimace.

"I definitely need to send a letter to Elder Goman." Alana said.

"No kidding." Selene observed. "I didn't know you were capable of missing like that."

"It needs stiffer arrows before I'll be able to get a significant amount of accuracy from it." The wood elf replied. "I can use it at normal draw weight for now."

"I would make getting that letter off a priority." Ethan advised.

Selene chuckled.

"I could make getting... other things off my priority." He grinned.

Selene didn't riposte with a clever bit of wit, she just frowned and spoke to him practically. "I know. You still good, or should we do that soon?"

He cocked his head to one side. "I think I'm okay for now; you?"

"I'm good." She shrugged.

Hmm.

That was odd.

He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"You should get going sir." Alana said after checking the sun, then gave him a sly smile. "But we definitely need to talk more about getting off later."

"Okay, we can talk about it later." He winked.

"Dom-i-nus." Beth groaned as the rest of his wives shook their heads.

"Okay, back soon." He said as he made sure he had his armor and weapons. "I love you all."

"And we love you." Alana replied and his other wives agreed.

Selene pulled her lips into a thin line.

He made another mental note to talk to her later, kissed his wives, and then took off for the Blue Circle camp.

* * *

Sarah was putting the finishing touches on a dish for lunch in Lord Delmar's castle when she noticed something odd. Two of the other cooks were whispering to each other in a corner of the room. That wasn't odd in itself -- it actually happened rather a lot -- but what definitely was weird was that it looked like one of them had pointed at her.

Sarah frowned.

She turned to face the two other cooks and they instantly stopped talking. One girl's eyes got wide when she saw Sarah looking at her and then she darted away quickly. The other looked more composed about it, but the look on her face was definitely forcedly calm and not naturally calm. The girl waved, trying and failing to look cheerful instead of alarmed before she too scampered away.

The innkeeper's daughter frowned and then looked around the kitchen. More than one girl had been looking at her and quickly looked away when she turned.

Sarah returned to what she was doing, not entirely sure what was going on.

* * *

*That was pretty clever earlier.*

Kendra made sure she didn't react outwardly when she heard her husband's voice coming to her privately. *What was?*

*You trying to have our talk in front of everyone so we wouldn't need to talk privately.* He replied.

"Selene, I think I'll go below decks for a bit, clear my head." Kendra said to her sparring partner before doing just that as she replied to her husband. *I suppose this means we're going to talk now?*