Chapter 3

 

Allistor and company met the representatives from Or’Dralon at the teleport pad.  He stood front and center with Amanda on his right arm, Daigath to his left, and Harmon next to Amanda.  The rest of his group, the analysts, Ramon and Nancy, and the others were arrayed behind them. 

The first to step off the pad was a familiar, if uncomfortable, face for Allistor.  It was Commander Enalion, the elf that almost blasted Allistor out of the sky on his first trip into space.  Behind him were two more elves, one much older and distinguished looking, and a young female.

Enalion bowed his head to Allistor, then bowed much more deeply to Daigath.  “Prince Allistor, Honored One, thank you for your gracious invitation.”

Daigath pressed his lips together in an attempt to avoid smiling.  He looked to Allistor and nodded slightly while the elf was still bowing.

“Welcome to Invictus, Commander Enalion.  And thank you again for sparing my life in our first encounter.” Allistor answered. 

Enalion cleared his throat, seeming slightly uncomfortable as the elder elf behind him raised an eyebrow.  Stepping forward, he too bowed his head to Allistor, then to Daigath, then to Harmon.

“Greetings, Prince Allistor, Master Daigath, Emperor Harmon.”  He focused his gaze on Allistor.  “I was not aware that my great grandson had met you previously, Prince Allistor.”

Enalion looked even more uncomfortable, and was about to speak when Daigath took over.  “High Lord Eragin, it has been too long.  I trust you have been well?”

“I have, Honored One.  The family thrives, and I find myself less and less involved in faction business each year.  These days I spend most of my time gardening, and playing with the little ones.” He smiled.  “Though I could not miss an event such as this, or a chance to see my old mentor once again.”

The head of the Or’Dralon faction motioned for the female to step forward.  “This is my great, great granddaughter, Melise.” 

The elfess stepped forward.  She was wearing a nearly-translucent silk dress that left very little of her form to the imagination.  When she bowed, it covered even less.  Amanda’s grip on Allistor’s arm tightened, and he thought he heard a slight growl from her.

“It is an honor, Prince Allistor, Honored One, Emperor Harmon.” Her voice was quiet and silky smooth, almost musical. 

Daigath beamed at the young elfess.  “You are as lovely as one would expect from such an illustrious bloodline, my dear!” He offered his arm before Allistor had a chance to respond, for which Allistor was relieved.  “You quite closely resemble your great, great grandmother.  You know that I had designs on her, before Eragin here stole her heart…”  The elfess giggled musically as Daigath led her, and the others, away from the teleport pad and out to the courtyard. 

Amanda held Allistor back as the others departed.  “I suppose that show was for you?”

“Show?” Allistor asked innocently.

“That dress.  Or lack thereof.  They might as well hang a piece of meat in front of a hungry wolf.  I thought they would wait until after we were married before trying to force another wife on you.”

Allistor shrugged, doing his best to sound uninterested in the incredibly beautiful elfess.  “Maybe that’s just elven fashion?  Either way, you are the one for me.  You’re the one I’m in love with.  You’re the one I’m going to unwrap that dress from tonight.” He gave her a gentle kiss, and she made a non-committal grunt, squeezing his arm slightly.

“Good answer.”

They were about to follow the others when Nigel announced the next arrivals.  Allistor gave his approval, and a pair of dwarves appeared on the pad.  They stepped forward in unison and bowed at the waist. 

“Good day, Prince Allistor, Lady Amanda.  We be Drolor and Crump o’ the Stardrifter Clan.  Thank ye fer invitin’ us to this event.”

“Welcome to Invictus, and it is our pleasure to have you here.” Allistor smiled at the dwarves, who both wore functional-looking leather gear from head to toe.  Having seen the dwarves arrive, Longbeard came striding back across the lobby to gather them up.

“Drolor, Crump!  Good to see ye!” He actually hugged both of the dwarves, clapping them on the back.  “Come right this way, and I’ll show ye to the food!”

With a laugh and a nod toward Allistor, the three dwarves departed.  Allistor and Amanda waited near the pad, assuming the other bidders would arrive shortly.   Harmon and Daigath returned after a minute or so, chuckling with each other.  Amanda cleared her throat and looked at Daigath.

“I don’t suppose the great great granddaughter is some kind of expert on ancient orbs?”

“Ha!” Harmon snort-laughed. 

Daigath smiled sympathetically at her.  “I’m sorry, Lady Amanda.  It seems my old friend hoped to include her as part of Or’Dralon’s offer, securing ties to Allistor here as well as securing the orb.  I’ve just quietly let him know that now is not the time.  It seems Enalion failed to pass on to his elder more than just the report of your previous incident.”

Amanda looked over the elf’s shoulder toward the courtyard, where the young elfess was distracting the Stardrifter dwarves.  “I noticed Enalion didn’t greet Harmon, either.  What’s his problem?”

Harmon followed her gaze.  “There are a number of elves who still view us as nothing more than slaves, who resent our freedom.  Enalion ignores me in protest of that freedom.”

“Then I would say Or’Dralon has already lost their chance at the orb.” Allistor growled.  “The question is, do we send them home now, or allow them to waste their time bidding?”

Harmon shook his head.  “Do not be hasty, my friend.  They are powerful, and possess great wealth.  Theirs might be the bid you seek.  And at the very least, they will push the others’ bids higher for you.  Please don’t risk offending them on my account.  I am used to their snubs, and they mean little.”

Daigath nodded.  “Listen to Harmon.  My old friend Eragin would not have purposely offended you.  He clearly was not aware of your reluctance to take on another bride at this time.  Remember, multiple marriages are commonplace nearly everywhere in the collective, and he would see the offering of Melise as a compliment to you. Throwing that back in his face would be a grave insult.  As for Enalion, I believe his failure to inform his lord, and to recognize Harmon, will go badly for him later today.”

Amanda squeezed Allistor’s arm gently, and gave him a small nod.  If she was willing to let it go, so would he.  “Fine.  Thank you both, for calming me down.”

“ Sire, the Azure Order representatives have requested access. ”

“Thank you, Nigel.  Please invite them over.” Allistor took a deep breath as they all turned to face the teleport pad once again.  A group of three appeared on the pad, the one in front stepping forward and bowing.   She was tall, at least eight feet, with a small torso and extremely long, willowy limbs.  Her neck was at least two feet long and was capped by a small head with very large eyes.  Each of her hands sported just two fingers and a thumb.  She wore a tight-fitting black silk outfit that appeared to be one long cloth wrapped around her limbs and torso dozens of times. 

“Greetings, Prince Allistor, Emperor Harmon, Honored One.  We thank you for the invitation to attend your auction.”  She stood straight and turned to face Allistor.  “I am Omidia, Grandmaster of the Azure Order.”

Allistor bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, suddenly unsure of who outranked whom in this matchup.  “Welcome to Invictus, Grandmaster.  It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Omidia!” Daigath stepped forward and embraced the mage.  “It has been too long, my dear.  How are the children?”  The old elf led her and her fellow mages off the pad and toward the courtyard. 

Almost immediately, Nigel reported the next pending arrivals, and two dwarves from the Lighthammer clan appeared.  Both dwarves bowed at the waist and greeted their hosts politely, reporting their names as Gurin and Lonrin.   Allistor welcomed them warmly, having grown a fondness for the dwarves in general.   “Welcome, Lighthammers.  There are refreshments in the courtyard just through those doors.   Please, help yourselves before the elves eat it all.” He winked at them, causing them to chuckle as they moved to do as he suggested.

The last of the bidding factions arrived just a minute later. 

“ Sire, the Arkhon representatives are ready to teleport .”

“Thank you Nigel.  Go ahead.”

There were just two of the Arkhons on the pad, and they stepped forward in unison.  Neither of them bowed, and to Allistor’s surprise, Harmon offered them a deep bow instead. 

“Greetings, Ancient Ones.  May I present Prince Allistor of Earth, Emperor of Orion, and his betrothed, Lady Amanda.”

The two beings, who were dressed head to toe nearly identically in a sort of scaled attire that looked like alligator hide, but with softly glowing blue circuits worked throughout the surface, bowed their heads slightly toward Harmon, then Allistor.   Neither of them spoke, so Allistor cleared his throat.

“Welcome to Invictus, Ancient Ones.  We are honored to have you here with us today.  If you’ll accompany us out to the courtyard, we have some refreshments for you to enjoy before the auction begins.”   He motioned as gracefully as he could manage toward the lobby doors, and Harmon led the way.  The Arkhons followed, their movements smooth and graceful, not making a sound.

Allistor and Amanda brought up the rear, except for Prime who followed unobtrusively.  All of them followed Harmon to the refreshment tables, where Allistor smiled to see that all the dwarves had built heaping plates of food and were sitting together, exclaiming over the various tastes of Meg’s creations. 

He watched the Arkhons with great interest as they perused the offered refreshments and loaded plates with a few samples.  Their armor, if that’s what it was, appeared to be almost alive, the glowing circuits pulsing as power seemed to circulate through it.  Both of them were nearly as tall as Omidia, but with much hardier frames.  When they took seats at a table by themselves, the armor that had also covered their faces opened up much like a helmet’s faceplate, and they began to taste the food. 

Allistor was distracted from his observation when Melise cleared her throat from behind him.  Both he and Amanda turned to find the young elfess offering an embarrassed smile.  Allistor couldn’t help but notice that she was breathing slightly more heavily than before. 

“Please pardon the interruption.” Her voice was truly musical, and Allistor found himself ready to pardon pretty much anything.  “I feel I must apologize on behalf of my family.  My lord Eragin and I were not aware of your… matrimonial customs.  I hope my presence here does not offend you?”  She took a deep breath and bit her bottom lip, her eyes widening slightly, hopefully.

Amanda sighed, looking down at Melise’s dress, then pinching Allistor’s arm.  “You are lovely, Lady Melise, and I am sure you intended no offense by coming here.  It was gracious of you to apologize, but unnecessary.  Come, tell me about this dress of yours.  Allistor clearly approves, and I might want to have one made for myself.”  She quickly steered the elfess away from Allistor, much to his regret.   As they walked away, he heard her say, “Nigel, would you ask Lilly to join us, please?”

A moment later Harmon’s great paw clapped him on the shoulder and turned him toward the food and drink.  “Best leave them to their own devices, my friend.  What we need is a good stiff drink before the bidding starts!”

Allistor didn’t argue, and with visions in his mind of Amanda wearing Melise’s dress, he turned and accepted a double shot of brandy from the beastkin bartender.

  After half an hour or so of socializing and food tasting, Igglesprite climbed up behind the podium and called the bidders to their seats.  Allistor and company filled the seats behind the auctioneer as the faction representatives arranged themselves.  Allistor was surprised to see that the dwarves distanced themselves from each other after sharing a meal, placing themselves on opposite ends of the front row of seats.  The Archons took the center, with the Or’Dralon and Azure Order on either side of them. 

“You’ve all been informed as to the rules of this sale, and signed the appropriate agreements.  As of this moment, we begin the auction of the Ancestral Orb seized by Prince Allistor from the fomorian clan that he engaged here on Earth.”  Igglesprite produced the orb and held it aloft for a moment, then placed it into its base on the nearby display table.  “The orb is considerably more powerful than previously estimated.  You may approach and examine the artifact if you desire.  I will begin the bidding in five minutes.”

The only one who rose and stepped forward was one of the Arkhons.  Igglesprite stood protectively near the orb as it leaned close and appeared to sniff the artifact.  When it reached a finger forward, the gnome shook his head, and a force field appeared around the orb.  “I’m afraid no touching is permitted, Ancient One.” he said quietly and respectfully.    The Arkhon grunted, withdrew its hand and straightened, returning to its seat. 

Igglesprite, seeing that no other bidders wished a closer examination, approached Allistor at his seat behind the stage.  “Any last minute changes to your instructions, Prince Allistor?”

Allistor looked to Daigath, who just smiled and shrugged.   Looking back to the gnome, he replied, “Um, drive the price up as high as you can?”

“Ha!  Indeed, indeed.” The gnome grinned at him, then at Daigath.  “This is going to be fun!”

*****

 

The bidding only lasted for about twenty minutes, but by the time it ended, Allistor was sweating.  His pulse was pounding, and he kept looking to Harmon and Daigath, waiting for them to react somehow.  He was doing his best to follow their lead and maintain a poker face, but the sheer immensity of the wealth and resources being offered up was getting to him.

The final bid, submitted by the Arkhons, silenced all the others and effectively ended the bidding.  There were murmurs from the other factions, but none advanced another bid.  Igglesprite called three times for any additional offers, then slammed a gavel on the podium.

“Bidding is now officially closed.  Our seller and his advisors will now take a few minutes to consider your offers.  Please take your leisure, walk the garden, and enjoy the refreshments.”  One of the dwarves from Stardrifter snorted in amusement, well aware that there was already a clear winner among the offers. 

Igglesprite removed the orb from the display, slid it back into his inventory, stepped down from the stage and motioned for Allistor and company to follow him.  He led them back into the lobby, and Allistor directed them all over to the sitting area.  Prime stationed several of his droids in a line across the lobby, cordoning off the area and keeping any prying ears away.  Igglesprite spoke a few words and wiggled his fingers, and a translucent bubble appeared over the seating area.  He took a seat on one of the sofas, produced a flask from his inventory, and took a long swig.  Then another.  “Well, now.  That was certainly entertaining!”

Allistor’s heart was still racing.  He didn’t even understand what the final bid was, what it meant, or why the other faction representatives had so clearly been surprised by it.  But the other bids… he was about to be obscenely wealthy.  Still, he had to ask before he could make an informed decision.

“Someone, please tell me what the Arkhons just bid, and why you all nearly wet yourselves?”

Daigath raised a hand before Igglesprite could respond.  The gnome just sat back and took another swig, smiling happily. 

“The Arkhons final bid was a pair of eternity gates.” He turned in his seat slightly so that he was facing Allistor directly, and leaned forward as if about to tell a secret.  “Eternity gates are technology developed and manufactured solely by the Arkhons.  In the twenty millennia since they were invented, the gates have been tightly controlled.  They are prohibitively expensive, even these wealthy factions only having a small number each.   The Or’Dralon, for example, possess eight of them, last I heard.  Harmon here has… five?”

Harmon nodded.  “Nearly bankrupted the empire when we purchased the first set.  But they were absolutely worth every hardship involved in obtaining them.”

Allistor took a guess.  “They’re some kind of instant travel?  Like a controlled wormhole?”

Daigath tilted his head slightly.  “Very similar, yes.  The eternity gates actually fold the space between them when connected, allowing a ship to pass nearly instantly from one to the other.  The time required for travel from gate to gate varies based on the distance between, but the variance in real time is calculated in milliseconds.”

“In real time?” Amanda asked.

“They are called eternity gates because though the physical transport time is short, sentient beings experience a prolonged mental sensation during the transfer.   Your body may move light years in an instant, but your mind perceives the journey as having taken much longer.  Anywhere from minutes to days, sometimes longer.  It is said that the first volunteer to test the gates, a young Arkhon, never returned.  Or rather, his body returned, but his consciousness was lost somewhere in the null-space between gates for all eternity.  For a race such as theirs, this is a tragic loss.  Hence the name.” 

Harmon added, “We slow our ships to a crawl before entering the gates.  It has been found that the faster your ship is moving when it enters the event horizon of a gate, the longer the mental effects last.  The best theorists, outside of the Arkhons, who aren’t talking, believe that the speed causes some kind of backlash in the magic-tech hybrid operational mechanics of the gates.  No one knows for sure, because anyone caught tampering with the gates, trying to reverse engineer them, has their gate immediately confiscated.  If they own other gates, those are shut down.  Permanently.”

Allistor absorbed that for a moment.  “Okay, so the gates are valuable, and rare.  But do they do me any good if I don’t have a fleet a ships to send through them?”

Longbeard chuckled.  “Please, allow me?”  Daigath nodded, and Longbeard stroked his beard for a moment, gathering his thoughts.  “Ye remember we told ye that ye could use the proceeds from auctioning off bits o’ yer other planet to purchase ships, or trade ships fer land?”

Allistor nodded, starting to see where the dwarf was going.  But his eyes widened and his pulse quickened a bit at Longbeard’s next words.

“Ye park one o’ them gates in orbit around Orion, and ye increase the value o’ the land there at least tenfold!   Orion becomes a trading hub overnight.  No longer a small out o’ the way rock with decent agricultural potential.  Ye could buy or trade a dozen fleets o’ ships fer what you’d earn.”  The dwarf winked at Harmon, adding, “And Harmon here, with his space station already in orbit, would make a pile o’ money as well.”

“Damn.” Sam added his two cents. 

Allistor shook his head.  “Shouldn’t we at least discuss the other offers?  I mean, there were a lot of the things we said we wanted – planets with valuable resources, asteroids with minerals, dungeon cores, and at least two fleets of ships, including some warships that would help me defend both Earth and Orion…”

Droban the minotaur spoke, his deep voice catching everyone’s attention.  “We can certainly entertain and discuss the other bids, Allistor.  But ownership of the gates puts you in a position to afford all those other items on your own, and in a relatively short period of time.  In addition, I believe I can safely say that none of the other factions would be offended were you to accept the Arkhons bid.  In fact, I believe that were you to accept one of the other bids, that faction would immediately turn around and trade the orb to the Arkhons, claiming the gates for themselves.”  He paused as the others nodded in agreement.  “I would, however, suggest that we take a moment to discuss why such a bid has been offered.”

Selby agreed, her tiny gnomish voice the next to be heard.  “He’s right.  The orb is certainly valuable, and the Arkhons can probably make the best use of it, other than possibly the Azure Order mages.  But by my estimation, they are vastly overpaying.”

Daigath mused, “The Arkhons have long been enemies of the fomorian race.  It may be that obtaining such an orb and its secrets will assist them in their fight.  Then again, it may just have increased value as a trophy, or a lure that might allow them to kill or capture the clan’s Matron.”

Igglesprite shook his head.  “The Arkhons value their privacy.  I would not want to be the ones to ask them why they want the orb.” He hiccupped, then took another swig and passed the flask to Selby.

“We have another problem with that bid.” L’olwyn observed.  “I do not know what value the Ethereal Auction House might put on those gates, but we would need to pay them their percentage out of Invictus treasury funds.  And I’m not sure even you are that wealthy, Allistor.”

Igglesprite shook his head.  “We would be willing to work out some accommodation.  Say, an allotment of land on Orion once you’ve placed a gate there, and free access to the gates for our own ships, in peep… preprit…perpetuity.”  He grinned, patting his clothes and looking for his flask.  Selby didn’t hand it back.

Daigath smiled affectionately at the gnomes, then turned back to Allistor.  “Unless I miss my guess, the other factions have been spending the last several minutes preparing alternate bids to present to you.  Not for the orb, but for something similar to what Master Igglesprite has just suggested.  A piece of Orion, or whatever planet you choose to host a gate, and access to the gates.  That is how you will obtain your dungeon cores, warships, and such.”

Allistor took a deep breath.  Amanda squeezed his hand and smiled at him, nodding her head.  He looked around at the group.  “Anyone disagree?  Or have anything else to add?”

Ramon grinned at him.  “As one of your bestest buddies, I’d like you to put me in your will, Emperor Moneybags.”  Nancy smacked his arm, but she was smiling when she did it.

“Anything useful ?” Allistor shot Ramon a finger.

When nobody spoke, he looked at Igglesprite, who was now half asleep with his head on Shelby’s shoulder.  “Master Igglesprite, we accept the Arkhons’ final bid of two Eternity Gates, with a couple conditions.  They will deliver and install them at locations I determine, and agree to maintain them.”

Igglesprite sat up, nodding his head.  “That is all standard, and will be automatically included in the final agreement. They would in fact insist on maintaining the gates themselves, as they forbid anyone else from even examining them closely.  Let us return to the others and give them the news.  I have a feeling you’ve got a long day of negotiations ahead of you.” He winked, one whole side of his face bunching up and his mouth contorting with the effort. 

 It turned out that Daigath was correct.  The moment Igglesprite completed the auction by announcing the Arkhons as winners, the other factions requested meetings with Allistor to discuss alternate agreements.  Allistor agreed, asking them each to remain in the courtyard while he and his advisors met with them individually.  One by one the faction representatives moved into the lobby and sat with the Invictus group.  Daigath and L’olwyn did most of the speaking with the Or’Dralon and Azure order, while Longbeard took the lead with the dwarven factions.  Some of the offers overlapped, but Allistor approved them anyway.  As far as he was concerned, there was no such thing as too many ships, or too many dungeon cores.   The new offers didn’t include any planets, but there was still a mining asteroid offered by the Stardrifters.  They even agreed to tow it to a stable orbit near Earth, for ease of mining. 

The loot from the day’s negotiations included a total of six dungeon cores, each of a different type.  Allistor hadn’t even known there were different types a few days ago, and he was excited to try them out.  Invictus would shortly have a large fleet of ships, including twenty warships ranging in size from huge fighter carriers to smaller battleships and drop ships for land invasions.  There were ten brand new colony ships, each of them roughly twice the size and capacity of his captured goblin ships, and twenty cargo haulers that the Lighthammers agreed to modify with heavy shields and weapons before delivery. 

Eragin considerately excluded both Melise and Enalion from his discussions, leaving them out in the garden while he negotiated.  Before they began, he asked Allistor to relate his version of how he’d met the commander.  Allistor explained about it being their first trip into space, and how his gunner had been targeting random items, accidentally targeting Enalion’s ship.  He purposely made the elf commander sound more accommodating than he had actually been, in the interest of future relations.  Then Daigath made a point of letting the high lord know that Allistor’s unwillingness to accept a second bride in the near future had been related to Enalion personally.

“My apologies, Prince Allistor.  I was not informed of any of this, and I fear my actions this day reflect that lack of knowledge.  I meant no offense.”

Allistor resisted the urge to shrug, instead leaning forward and placing his hands on his knees.  “No apologies necessary, High Lord Eragin.  I am a relative child trying to fill the shoes of a prince and emperor, and have made more than my share of mistakes.  I look forward to a long and friendly relationship with Or’Dralon, and with you.”

The old elf smiled, saying, “Very gracious of you.  And toward that end, let us see if we can’t reach an agreement!”

The high lord secured a large swathe of land on Orion, as well as the only national park in Vermont, which was about 650 acres.  Allistor was happy to include it, as it bordered on the forest the commander had already secured for his faction.  In return, Allistor received a mutual defense pact with the Or’Dralon on both planets, a veritable mountain of crafting materials that would help his people level up their skills, an unaligned dungeon core, and a small space station to be placed in orbit above Invictus City.  The space station could be used to dock up to a dozen of his ships, as well as host several merchant shops, restaurants, repair bays, medical facilities, hydroponics bays, guest quarters, and housing for a thousand staff.   It was also easily expandable.

When it was all over, Orion would be sporting a branch of the Azure Order, Strongholds or Citadels built by the Or’Dralon, Lighthammer, and Stardrifter clans, several new dungeons, and an eternity gate.  In addition, the Lighthammers were entering into a joint venture with Invictus to restore the planet’s damaged gravity lift.  Though there weren’t sufficient mineral resources to justify the expense, with the planet about to become a trade hub, and secure orbital storage space being limited and therefore expensive, having a way to cheaply transport large quantities of goods to and from surface warehouses now made fiscal sense.

The dungeon cores excited Allistor as much as anything else.  Between the four factions, he would soon have an insectoid-based core that would generate monsters that dropped chitin and other valuable crafting components.  Also slime-based, and plant-based cores that would produce mostly alchemy ingredients, a mineral core in which not only would the element-based monsters drop valuable minerals from iron to mithril, but the cleared dungeon could be safely mined for additional minerals for twenty four hours before it was repopulated. The fifth dungeon was a combat core, the kind Emperors used to train their troops.  It featured staged arenas of increasing difficulty where large groups and combat units needed to work together using battlefield tactics to kill opposing groups and level up.  The final core was unaligned, meaning it could be programmed to become a specific type of core, or could be planted and left to randomly become any one of a hundred types. 

After sending all the factions home with newly executed agreements, which took well past dinner hour, Allistor and Amanda thanked everyone for their help, and retired to their quarters.  Allistor had obtained a list from Longbeard of all the known dungeon core types.  He and Amanda cuddled on the sofa as they went through each one, discussing the potential benefits and weighing them against the others.   There were elemental dungeons of air, water, earth, and fire, as well as obscure types like puzzle dungeons, and several that featured skill challenges.  Allistor especially liked one that featured cooking skill challenges, joking that Meg could be their tank.

There were cores specifically for melee types, and casters.  One that stood out, called a paladin core, challenged those who wished to become servants of one god or another, testing their faith and courage as well as whatever skills their chosen deity favored.  Amanda pointed it out, reminding Allistor that paladins and priests in games often had divine spells that allowed them to resurrect dead companions. 

With the adrenaline of the day fading, the two of them finally gave up on the list, leaving the decision for another day.  Allistor set down the list and scooped Amanda into his arms, carrying her toward the bedroom.   “Now… does this dress have a zipper, or buttons, m’lady?”

*****

Several hours later, with Amanda snoring softly next to him, Allistor lay awake worrying about the future.  Pulling up his character sheet, he mumbled to himself as he reviewed the numbers.  “I need to get stronger.  We all do.”