Chapter Twenty-five

 

Lia went into town to hire a wagon team from the stables. A couple of hours after the sheriff had left, they were arriving at the train station. Doc went up to the cashier window where Wilbur stood.

 

“Wilbur, I need tickets for the capital of the territory,” Doc said. “Seven in total, preferably two private rooms, but I’ll take whatever I can get.”

 

“Of course, sir,” Wilbur said. “I really appreciate you healing me. Every little ache and pain I had is gone. It’s like I’m eighteen again.”

 

“I’m glad I could help, especially since you got caught up in that nasty business. On that note, people will be wondering where I’ve gone off to. If you direct them toward Bluebird, instead, I’d appreciate it.”

 

“No problem.”

 

“The sheriff will probably be one of the people looking for me. He wasn’t happy with me not just giving in to him. When the sheriff doesn’t like you, it’s best to leave town.”

 

“He’s always been ornery about things… I’ll do what I can, sir.”

 

“Thanks, Wilbur.” He paid for the tickets in cash, then went to help his family move their trunks into the station. Glancing at the tickets, he smiled— he was beloved by Luck. They would be departing in ten minutes, meaning they were getting onto the train that was currently boarding.

 

They had to hustle to get everything on, but with the help of the porters the trunks were loaded up in short order. Handing the tickets over to the conductor, the group was shown to two private rooms. Each could hold six, but having six people inside just one room would make it pretty snug.

 

Even with it being beyond snug, Rosa knelt between Lia and Doc near the windows after they’d stuffed themselves into a single room. The call for last boarding came, and, a minute later, the train began to move.

 

“Well, that went better than I thought it would,” Ayla sighed in relief.

 

“If not for Luck, I doubt it would’ve worked out,” Sonya said. “We should’ve been waiting for hours.”

 

“Or a day,” Sophia added.

 

“The sheriff and preacher will flail about for a couple of days, then try in earnest to find us,” Harrid said.

 

“I got the cashier to work with me. We’ll get a little buffer before people figure it out,” Doc said. “We need to work quickly in Kitson City. As soon as we get in, schedule a meeting with the governor.”

 

“We have the plans all drawn up, along with a full breakdown of costs for the business and the profits the territory should see as the rail gets laid and the mines begin to produce,” Ayla said.

 

“I have the paperwork together to be signed. Once it is, we register it with the recorder, then send copies to David so he can make sure they’re registered in the capital back east,” Sophia added. “I would think it will take two or three days to do business if we can see the governor quickly.”

 

“If you have to, donate to his reelection campaign to make it understood that we have the wealth to back him,” Doc said. “Might as well use the means we have to make it go smoother.”

 

“We’ll take care of it,” Ayla said. “I’d like Lia or Harrid with us when we go to those meetings. Showing an armed guard will also show that we’re prepared for trouble. Doc, I’d like you to stay out of it, unless he insists on meeting you. Pushing this as the company, and not you specifically, might help obfuscate things.”

 

“We’ll maybe have two days before Maxwell sends messages to nearby towns and cities for those preachers to look for us,” Doc said.

 

“We’ll be heading for Golden Bay afterward?” Sonya asked.

 

“Yes. It’s the best course right now. We need to secure the rights for the territory there, too.”

 

“You’ll be choosing more defensive gifts from Luck soon, right?” Harrid asked.

 

“I’ll start going over them in a moment. Head on next door, Harrid. I’ll swing over in a few minutes.”

 

Harrid nodded, leaving the family in the room.

 

“Why did you want him to leave, Doc?” Lia asked.

 

“I want to hold each of you and get a kiss or two before I go sit with him. It’s only seven or eight hours to Kitson City— if you want to swap over one per hour just to sit with us, that’s fine. I’ll be looking over my options for faith, so I won’t be talking a lot.”

 

“We’ll handle it,” Lia said. “First, you said hugs and kisses. Since Sonya is beside you already, best for her to start.”

 

Sonya smiled brightly, leaning into Doc’s side. “I accept that.”

 

~*~*~

 

Doc was boggled over his available faith. He hadn’t checked it since leaving the tribes, and it had exploded further. He was aware of his wives coming to sit with him and Harrid; they chatted with the dwarf as Doc went over each possible defensive gift he could pick up, and how it compared to others.

 

Done spending the two-hundred thousand faith he’d accrued, Doc exhaled and stretched. “That took a while…”

 

“Done?” Harrid asked.

 

“What did you take?” Lia asked. She absently stroked Rosa’s hair, as the dryad was resting against her side.

 

“Mostly, I improved immunity bubble; I can use it every hour. That took the majority of what I had to spend, but being able to use it more often felt like the best choice. With my mist gift and missed me, I have options. The rest of my faith went to doubling my reserves, every reserve I could, meaning energy, vitality, and health. Short of something taking out my brain, I should be able to survive and heal the damage. If I get enough faith again, I can pick up a gift that’ll bring me back to life once a year, healing any damage done to me in the process. That means I should be able to survive a headshot, too. I just couldn’t afford it this time.”

 

Lia’s eyes bore into his. “You’ll get that next. I will not take any answer other than, ‘yes ma’am.’”

 

“I’m going to, Lia,” Doc said, gently touching her cheek. “I didn’t have enough to get it right now, and I felt better defense and survivability was a good stopgap.”

 

“I agree with both of you,” Harrid said. “He chose well, and if he does get that gift next, then it’ll be even better.”

 

“What are the new ones called?” Lia asked, accepting that Doc would do what he said.

 

“Deep reserves, improved immunity bubble, and greater immunity bubble,” Doc said. “I had to get improved first, which took it from once a day to once every six hours. That allowed me to pick up greater, which is every hour.”

 

“I’ll let our wives know,” Lia said, then kissed Doc softly. “Thank you, husband.”

 

Lia left a moment later with Rosa, who explained that she could tell the others exactly what Doc had seen since she’d been watching him choose. That left Doc and Harrid alone in the train room.

 

“We should be there soon,” Harrid said after a moment of silence. “The sun is down already.”

 

Doc glanced at the dark window. “Yeah… it felt like hours.”

 

“Do you think the inquisitor will leave them alone, Doc?” Harrid asked softly.

 

“I do. Ginger and Fiala will be staying at the manor, and they also have powerful friends in the city. Seeing them not actively spreading faith will make it unlikely the church will move on them. The worst that I think will happen is they’ll pressure people in the city to distance themselves from our wives.”

 

Exhaling a ragged breath, Harrid slumped. “Please, Luck… please…”

 

“I know. I feel the same way, Harrid. I want to rush home, hold her, and protect her from anything that might threaten her.”

 

“Duty never felt as heavy as it did when we left.”

 

“I’m not diminishing you when I say this,” Doc said first. “If, at any time, you want to go back, I will send you. You being there means better protection for my family, too. I value you here beside me and would never dishonor you by trying to send you without your own consent.”

 

“No. It would dishonor not just me, but my family. Ginger shared her name with me, and I will never tarnish that precious gift, not to mention the clan.”

 

“I won’t bring it up again, but the offer is always there.”

 

Silence fell between them as the train kept rolling through the dark of night.

 

~*~*~

 

As the train got closer to Kitson City, Doc stopped the conductor and asked about hotels. The man had been happy to spend a few minutes detailing what he knew about the ones in the city. He even told Doc how the first hotel had been absorbed by the state prison, which was an odd piece of trivia he didn’t really need.

 

When they reached the station, Doc spent time tipping the porters, who made it a priority to get their luggage out and ready. It also caught the eye of the porters at the station, who were only too happy to help arrange transport for them.

 

The carriage rolled through the quiet city, as it was well past most people’s bedtime. In time, they reached Curly’s Hot Springs Hotel. It wasn’t anything like the Plaza in Furden; it was mostly tents and a small hotel. The one footman on duty blinked at them tiredly, then hurried to help when he saw the luggage they had.

 

Doc and Ayla went straight inside to arrange rooms. That took them a little while— the night staff wasn’t fully up on things, having just started a week before. When they were eventually led to their rooms, Doc was happy enough that it was large with two beds. Harrid was staying in the room next to theirs, which was well more than he needed, but it made everyone happy to have him nearby.

 

Shoving their beds together, they had a quick rinse with the fresh hot water a maid had brought to them before collapsing into bed. The problems in Elka were behind them for now, but they’d have to work fast to stay ahead of the trouble that was surely coming for them.