I wasn't sure if I was impressed or annoyed with how Arizar had chosen to introduce me. It had definitely made the point to the old elf in front of us.

Deller's complexion, a natural tan, paled.

To his credit he didn't grovel or apologize. Instead, he straightened, meeting my gaze directly. "You're… taller than I expected."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "First time I've heard that one."

He shrugged, arms crossed. "So, Magus Protectus, what business do you have with an honest merchant?"

"Well, that's an oxymoron if ever one existed," I said, shaking my head. "And certainly not an appellation that applies to a smuggler."

I was privately pleased at remembering to use the word appellation in Elinder. I'd never known the equivalent in English.

The confusion on Deller's face told me I wasn't the only one.

"He means that you're not an honest anything," Alister clarified from beside me. "You are, in fact, a cunning liar who has made a reasonable profit while doing good works in the name of the Magus's people."

Deller looked even more confused after Alister's explanation than before.

"Boss… I think they're gonna follow the codes," one of the younger elves nearby said, bumping Deller's elbows.

"We're a thousand miles from Spellford. They've got the rites of rope and rigging. Everyone's heard how they treat their own people," Deller said, the disbelief clear in his voice. "People don't follow the codes here." He looked between Arizar, the High Shaper's daughter, Alister, one of the most morally upstanding investigators of Spellford's recent history, and me before adding, "do they?"

"We're going to start. And you're the first part of that," I said, giving him a small nod.

"Well, toss me in the abyss and blend my mother," Deller said, looking me over again. "Guess I judged you wrong, Magus Protectus."

"Well, you were right about one thing. I did fail these people. We've been trying, but it feels like there's always something falling through the cracks," I said, shaking my head. "That said, I've got some questions about your activities."

Deller nodded, and then, to my immense surprise confessed to every single charge Alister leveled at him. Most of his men followed his example just as quickly. There were a few who seemed hesitant to do so, and by the difference in their accents, I marked them as refugees from the interior.

The following induction as deputies, as well as their new training schedules, was met with bemusement by most, and outright confusion by the rest.

There was some grumbling about Deller's weekend service being spent cleaning waste recycling units but the man waved them off.

With that done, I had the more difficult part to tackle.

Ensuring that we shifted to the new structure. At least the Tethered only applied the rites of rope and rigging to their own community. Convincing them to incorporate general principles instead shouldn't be too hard. I wasn't going to let their old laws get grandfathered in. That would just keep them separate from everyone else.

They'd have time to adjust, but eventually, they'd follow the same rules as the rest of Cape Aeternia. It helped that the specifics could vary greatly, while the core tenets were the most important part.

Arizar remained with me as I sought out Selvi and Vexith. Each would be responsible for ensuring a smooth transition. After a few minutes of discussion with Selvi, I was regretting the fact I couldn't simply bring her into my Memory Palace so she could learn faster.

A pretty lofty dream, considering she hadn't even unlocked her first spell slot.

Vexith, at least, was already familiar with Spellford's code of Red, Black and Blue. He promised he'd take Selvi through it in the evenings. There might've been something more to his offer but Selvi's terse responses told me that if she was aware of his intentions, she wasn't feeling particularly interested.

On top of that, Arizar agreed to help them out until a legal consultant from Spellford could be arranged.

I hadn't even thought of bringing in an expert. Glad I had her on my side for this.

After we were done with Vexith and Selvi, it was close to dinner. I was looking forward to spending time with Bevel and Tamrie. As nice as Arizar's company had ended up being, she wasn't at the point of being family.

Least, not yet.

Speaking of family, as we were making our way towards the Waygate, my sister made an appearance, landing in a bolt of lightning. She clearly hadn't noticed me, since she started walking towards the entrance to the Waygate, only turning when I called out to her.

"Per per! Who's this? Did you start kidnapping elven royalty? I'm telling you bro, leave the coercion to me, you're no good at it," Nexxa said, holding her arms wide for a hug even as she chewed me out.

"Hey Nexxa," I said, accepting her hug with a smile. "This is Arizar. Funny you mention royalty, cause she's High Shaper Thozgar's daughter. Closest they've got these days."

"No way, serious? Nice to meet you. Magus Protectus Lanexxa of Aeternia at your service, though you can just call me Nexxa," Nexxa said, offering her hand towards Arizar.

"A pleasure, Nexxa," Arizar said warmly, taking her hand. "I've heard a great deal about you from your brother."

"All bad, I hope," Nexxa shot back, smiling as she waved us forward.

"I'm afraid some praise may have made its way in," Arizar said with a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"I tried, you know," Nexxa said, grinning back at where I was following behind them. "But turns out he's just not cut out for real feelings."

"A shame, truly," Arizar said. "I'm certain that, with time, we can whip him into acceptable shape. Preferably before his wedding with Tamrie."

"Oh Front, wedding? Did you finally ask her to marry you?" Nexxa asked, turning back to look at me.

I felt it was entirely unfair how chilly the look in Arizar's gaze became at Nexxa's simple question.

…MLI…

It turned out Arizar was upset about the fact I'd allowed her to believe that Tamrie and I were betrothed because there were different honorifics, gifts and topics of conversation for a couple who were merely dating instead of betrothed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Spellford customs could get weird, I was learning.

Thankfully, Nexxa was there, so any social niceties that might have otherwise served as an obstruction to conversation were plowed through with all the subtlety of a lightning bolt.

"So, you haven't popped the question yet? Better get on it, she's not gonna wait forever," Nexxa said, shaking her head even as she started walking towards the Waygate again.

"Is it customary for the male to propose in the Hundred Kingdoms?" Arizar asked, following along on her right.

"Nah, it's not 'cause he's male, it's 'cause he's Pegasus and she's just a regular mage," Nexxa said, shaking her head. "Custom is that the higher rank does the asking 'cause they've got more to offer. Least, that's how it was explained to me. I'll admit, I wasn't exactly paying attention to those lessons at the time. Never thought I'd need 'em."

"Wait, you didn't expect to awaken?" I asked, taking a couple steps forward to catch up on her left. "Or just not ascend?"

"Neither?" Nexxa replied. "Not like our father gave us much support. You were too young but… well, our siblings weren't exactly the sort to throw compliments my way. Plenty of the opposite really. Wasn't always the paragon of confidence you see before you."

"Oh, they didn't spare either of their 'not-a-real-siblings' you don't have to worry about that," I said, shaking my head. "Guess I just… you never showed that side of things."

"Even a great and mighty prodigy was a kid at some point, Per per," Nexxa said, elbowing me. "And we all have doubts along the way."

"To be a Hydra-souled before you're fifty truly is the achievement of a prodigious talent," Arizar agreed, nodding.

"Oh, don't you start too," Nexxa grumbled, though she was smiling.

"So, what brings you back to town? Or more like, what kept you away so long?" I asked as we entered the building. "Heard you came by the other day, but no one got anything out of you other than that things were going well."

"Things. Many, many things," Nexxa said, rubbing her hands together. "Where should I even start?"

"I have found it is often helpful to start at the middle, then flail around randomly until I land upon a point," Arizar replied, coming to a halt just outside the sealed fort we'd thrown up around the Waygate. "Though if I'm feeling particularly adventurous, I might start at the beginning."

I chuckled while sending the spellcode to open the Waygate chamber.

"Start at the middle huh? I like it. Perry, I have several tonnes of Worlds materials, which was only possible because I rooted out the phase ant infestation no one noticed. That was an exciting thing. Phase ants are surprisingly good at not getting hit by Lightning. Especially when you're trying to keep them intact," Nexxa said as her opener.

"That-"

"Then I accidentally woke up a Forgeborn tall as a mountain," Nexxa continued, pausing as we reached the Waygate and it warped us through. "Not this mountain, of course. Just a little one," she said gesturing to the stone around us even as she paused, looking around at all the Waygates. "You really need to add signs, now that there are so many of them."

"What, you can't read their coordinates?" I teased, only able to do so easily thanks to the recently modified Eagle Eyes Arizar and I had been working on. "And what's this about a mountain sized Forgeborn?"

"They are rather apparent, aren't they," Arizar added, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

Nexxa rolled her eyes at us. "Haha, yes, we're all very magically gifted. But I've been getting it pounded into my head the last few days that most people aren't. Signs are helpful."

"I'll get Vendil to take care of it," I said, turning to the assistant who'd followed silently behind us. "Could you please?"

"Of course, Magus," Vendil replied, bowing slightly before moving over to his desk.

I'd intended to have him delegate, but if he wanted to tackle it himself, I wasn't going to complain.

"So, giant Forgeborn. Except it wasn't actually, I guess? No steam or Forgeheart. Just a big monster, really." Nexxa was striding straight towards Conflict's Waygate, which was when I stepped back. "Just got through with that," I said when she glanced in my direction.

"Right. We're all out of sync. Guess it doesn't really matter anyway, since it's not like we're taking them together," Nexxa said, scratching the back of her head. "It really is a shame that you need to run the other ones daily. Wouldn't mind a little more freedom for my sacrifices."

"Oh. Never did mention the catalysts," I said.

At her raised eyebrows, I quickly explained how we could speed up the physical side of things with the right material. Though it might be tough for her, since she was already in tier-4 physical, thanks to her Hydra-soul. Which meant she'd need an equally impressive catalyst. At which point, it might be easier to stick with her sacrifices.

"Well, I'll see what I can do after I'm done with metal-head," Nexxa said, turning to Arizar and offering the other woman her hand. "Nice to meet another female Pegasus who's got her head on straight. Haven't met enough of us."

"Were you not just discussing the fact you're Hydra-souled?" Arizar asked with a smirk, accepting Nexxa's hand and giving it a quick shake.

"Bah, you know what I mean," Nexxa said, waving us off. "I'll see you in a bit, Perry. Catch up proper at dinner?"

"Sounds like a plan, though we might end up spending it in the catacombs beneath the mountain," I said, gesturing towards the new door we'd installed in the basin below.

"Always something with you," Nexxa chuckled.

"Says the woman who woke a giant Forgeborn. I do expect the full story there," I said, pulling her into a hug before she could Waygate away.

"You'll get it," Nexxa said. Then without another word, she tapped the Waygate and was gone.

"Well, your sister is every bit as interesting as I was led to believe. I do think I like her," Arizar said, turning away from the Waygate. "What was next on your docket for the day?"

"Not sure anymore. Kinda messed things up repeatedly," I replied, making my way over to Vendil, who was sketching out instructions for the earlier proposed signs.

Guess he wasn't doing them himself afterall.

"Sorry to bug you, but anything else on my schedule Vendil?"

"It's no trouble, Magus," Vendil said, finishing a few more strokes before flipping open the notebook. "Most of what we had was to get you familiar with everything that's been happening in Southport lately, but Alister's investigation handled most of that. Only thing you might want to tackle yourself was a request to greet the Shapers… oh, except their ship was delayed, so they won't be coming in until the morning. Sorry, forgot to write that down."

He immediately started scribling in a new note.

"The Shapers are almost here? Do we know how many?"

"I believe… they indicated six full cadres? I'm afraid I don't know what a cadre is," Vendil said, lifting his pencil for a second.

"A cadre is a unit of nineteen people," Arizar replied. When I turned to her, she continued, "One Master Shaper, three Expert Shapers and fifteen Apprentices. Often their tier matches their status, though it's not uncommon for Apprentice Shapers to include a number of Astral-souled."

"So roughly a hundred and twenty mages, all of whom are at least passingly familiar with construction, right?"

"They should be, if the guild didn't override my instructions," Arizar replied, nodding.

"That's going to be useful. Guess I should check with Tamrie, ensure we've got plans to keep them busy," I said before thanking Vendil and making my way towards the Tetherfall Waygate.

"We could spend time working on said plans in your Palace. There is much work we can set such mages to, and it would be best if we split their labor as effectively as we can."

"You sure you want to spend more time in my garage with me? Wait, you just want to take the dune-buggy out again, don't you?" I asked touching the Waygate.

"Alas, you have seen through me," Arizar said, shaking her head. "I am ever so transparent."

We disappeared before I could respond. By the time she shook off the disorientation, I was already floating up along the net, searching for Tamrie, who was standing off to the side with a small group of Tethered, each of whom was carrying an assortment of tools that looked like they were meant for carpentry.

I took a second to just… watch her, Arizar coming up to float silently next to me. Neither of us said anything as Tamrie walked the Tethered through their expected tasks for the day. Apparently, she was doing more than watching over their tests.

After sending them on their way, she turned away, a faint scowl etched on her features. It vanished when she spotted the two of us floating in the air just behind her, replaced by an 'oh' of shock, which was just as quickly replaced by a laugh.

"Was just 'bout to dredge you out o' wherever you'd gotten yourself off to," Tamrie said as I landed beside her. "They're taking well to it, though they're still nervous as a fish in a cat farm. Not too keen 'bout leaving the nets."

"You have the most charming idioms," Arizar said, landing beside Tamrie, who quickly looped her arm through Arizar's.

Tamrie looked at where I was still floating in the air, over to Arizar, then back to me. Then she stepped forward, pulling me down to her other side.

"What say my two favorite Pegasus give me a ride. Got a clanger to talk to."

I chuckled along with Arizar, then we lifted Tamrie into the air. Her cool demeanor didn't even last until we'd passed into the open air, her arm tightening around both of ours a few inches off the ground.

"We've got you," I said, leaning over and kissing her shoulders.

"Right certain, you do," Tamrie said before glancing down. "But, might be that you could be quick about it anyway?"

"Your wish is our command," I said, meeting Arizar's eyes, a moment of understanding passing between us.

"Wait, not too-"

Whatever it was Tamrie had been about to say was lost amongst her screams as we rocketed up and over the side of the canyon.

Was kinda fun, having someone who was willing to play along with teasing Tamrie.

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