A week had gone by since the Baron’s visit. The merchant returned in that time, escorted by fledgling adventurers, saving me a trip into Lark. I spent the majority of my free time following up on my ongoing experiments in the beast pits. When not doing that I was working to apply ornate etchings and designs throughout the varying rooms of the tower. Walker returned one day with a handful of gems, most of which were worthless to me. Kine had yet to find any more valuable than quartz, but he didn’t look disheartened about it. And I was procrastinating. In a way. I had two major things I needed to do in my tower that I was preparing myself for. The first of which was to build a laboratory floor. The pits were fine, but they were minor experiments. I didn’t hold out much hope for their success. I was more using those experiments to stall the desire to delve full force. My tower and staff weren't ready for me to spend weeks or months on end doing nothing else. Which led me to where I now stood. Or, more accurately, paced. The first floor. Currently, it was an empty room with only the fireplace in the center. The alcove was now cleared of most everything but a broom, a mop, and a bucket. The ornate design on the ceiling and the fireplace did a lot to attract the eye and make the room not feel as empty as it was. That didn’t help me at the moment. I needed to decide what I wanted the room to be. It would be the first thing that any guests would see, after all. Not that I wanted guests. But, if I had them, what would I want them to see first? I still had crates of honors and medals. Letters of thanks from important historical figures. Commendations from both the military and arcane communities. I could fill most of the wall with the things. But. But I didn’t value them anymore. I didn’t feel the need to brag or speak about my accomplishments. Certainly, I used my history in conversation when I wanted something, but that wasn’t the same. Dedicating an entire room to the topic seemed a little arrogant. I was not such a little person—or I didn’t want to believe myself to be. I’d grown past considering if others thought me arrogant. Part of me wanted to turn the room into a lounge and fill it with sofas. It could easily fit fifteen to twenty. If only those damned Laxtons didn’t hold a monopoly on the things. Thousands of gold coins for a single couch was ridiculous. And that they barred me from purchase! Me! All because of a single drunken night with a woman on the eve of battle. The ducal family’s revenge did a lot to curb my youthful arrogance, even if I laughed the matter off then. But they won in the end. Here it is, a hundred years later and I’m not laughing now. It almost made me wish to join the upcoming war just to raid a few enemy manors for their couches. Still, even if I could fill the room with couches, I wouldn’t. That wasn’t the impression I wanted to give. That would look inviting. I could fill the room with elementals. I stopped pacing to try to picture it. Carved stone soldiers every three or four feet all along the circular wall. Stone soldiers standing at attention all around the hall. Some nobles did that with family armors as decorations. I know I’d enchanted a few to function as defenses on occasion, though it had been painstaking work not worth whatever favor they offered. Golems, I didn’t care for making them. The time it took to craft their controls was wasted when I could summon an earth elemental that could do the same. It wasn’t a bad idea, but I didn’t want to scare the local nobility into thinking I was preparing for war. It was one of the reasons I had yet to summon a third-tier guardian elemental. The door creaked open behind me, and I glanced back to see Kine enter. “Greetings master,” he said with a small bow. By the look on his face, I could tell something had happened. Perhaps he finally found some gems out in the bog. I greeted him with a smile and nod, and turned back to look at the room, “Assistant, what do you think I should do with the first floor?” The change in topic must have put him off his expectations, as he paused a moment before answering, “I’m not sure. Is there a skull of a powerful monster you could mount on the wall there? And a chair to go beneath it?” He pointed towards the center of the back wall. I assumed he meant a high-back chair, like a throne room or the similar rooms other nobility had. It was a decent suggestion if I were a human wizard, one that wanted to showcase their power. If any of the nobility saw it, they’d either arrest me or elevate me in title. I could only imagine the ambitions the young man held to suggest such a thing and noted to myself that I’d need to keep an eye on that. Ambition was only good if he held the power and skill to support it. I shook my head, “That’s a good idea, but I’d not want young Rolf frightened every time he climbs the stairs.” “Master, actually, you have a guest—” He began. I snorted. It made some kind of ironic sense that when I finally get around to doing something about the room that I'd be interrupted. Still, I wouldn’t allow myself to be interrupted for something petty, “Who is it?” “Baroness Lark… and three gentlemen,” Kine answered. I held in my sigh. Apparently, I would allow myself to be interrupted by something petty if the right names came along with it. I checked my robe; it was still my standard traveling robe. I hadn’t changed clothes here as often as when I lived in Sena City. It was more comfortable that way, and it wasn’t as if the cleaning spells didn’t leave it looking newly made. But I would need to change for these guests. “Tell them I will join them momentarily,” I huffed, before heading upstairs. I picked out a forest green robe, one with golden embroidered cuffs of various forest creatures. I wrapped a matching golden sash around my waist and tied it to the front. I chose a staff of gnarled wood with a hooked top that held a mana crystal in woven metallic netting in the center. The spellwork on the staff would create an illusion that I changed the color of something with a touch. Not something that had any real uses, except to impress the ignorant. Which is exactly why I’d chosen it. When I exited the poorly made wooden door of my tower, I used the bottom of the staff to change the bridge’s color to a golden color with every other step I took. I could tell by the faces of those who waited at the gates that I was suitably impressive. Mentally, I turned off the defensive measure around the moat, should I decide to invite them in. Really, there were eight people in front of my gates, but I’d already dismissed the carriage driver and the guards. The four that mattered to me at the moment were who I focused on. Baroness Lark, in a floral gown of light purple and a matching umbrella. Her long hair styled into elaborate curls that highlighted her painted face. Baron Wilchrest, from the Shielding family, wearing a blue silken doublet standard among the nobility in the capital. It went well with his blond hair but did nothing for his nose. Mirm Fenn, the captured bandit lord. He no longer looked to be either captured or a bandit, but instead wore a fine suit of light green which almost matched his green eyes. He held his arms behind his back, no doubt to hide the missing hand. And Songmaster Tek, bard and annoyance. Mena opened the gates for me, and Kine bowed as I approached, “Master, may I present—” I waved him to silence, “I know who they are. Please go ask Miss Chelsea to prepare some tea for us.” He bowed again and quickly departed. For my part, I turned and looked each of the four in the eyes. I held their gaze for a few seconds each before turning to Baroness Lark, “Lady Olivine, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” The way I stressed the word pleasure made it certain I thought the visit was anything but pleasurable. But she didn’t show any response to that part of my question at all. Instead, she answered as if she had prepared her words ahead of time, “Alderman Fargus, I find myself in a conundrum. Mayhap we go inside? I fear the topic of the conversation should not be overheard by those of lower stature.” I had expected such a self-styled invitation, but it was still an annoyance to have someone try to invite themselves into my home. I had hoped to have the entire thing done with at the gates. Still, there was nothing for it. I didn’t want anyone to think that I was rude of all things. “Please follow me,” I said and turned to walk back towards my tower without looking back. I ignored their commentary about the moat, even if I wanted to take pride that they were impressed. In front of me, I could only feel slightly ashamed at the state of my door, and knowing the room inside was empty. To my surprise, Mena opened the door with a bow of greeting. Kine and Walker stood at the other end of the room. The two had used [Earth Manipulation] to raise a long, stone table with stool-like benches. It curled around the space between the wall and fireplace, with only the bench in the center having a high back. The back of the chair had a crude diamond-shaped space cut out from it. From their smug looks, I could tell my two assistants were proud of their quick thinking. I was too. I’d commend them on it later, though part of me suspected this was Mena’s idea. Leading the way around the room, I took the chair with the high back and gestured for the others to sit. While normally seating was by rank, they had not only visited me without notice but also invited themselves into my home. It took a few minutes for them to get to their seats, as they seemed busy staring at the copper working on the oven and ceiling. Under the table, I tapped my leg, but I didn’t show any sign of impatience on my face. Baroness Lark took the seat across from me, with Baron Wilchrest immediately to her left. Mirm Fenn and Songmaster Tek stared at each other silently for a few seconds before the [Bard] huffed. He moved down a seat so that the handless Mirm could sit to the lady’s right. “Great Wizard Fargus,” the lady began and then stopped herself to turn her head to the side. She gave a pointed look towards my assistants, “If you would be so kind.” I nodded once in the direction of my two assistants and guard, “Return to your duties.” With small bows, they found somewhere else to be. The Baroness began again, “Great Wizard Fargus.” She spoke with a contained smile, “I find myself in a confusing situation. And as you were the one to bring it about, I was hoping that you would be able to offer a solution.” “Oh?” I asked. “You see, before you came, I was happy with my Tek,” she gave a smile to the man, though it wasn’t a real one. “When you sent me Alderman Fenn, I didn’t think that he would fall for me as well. He began to try to court me the very day he arrived. And now, Baron Ernie has shown up on my doorstep speaking of duty in a way that sends my very heart aflutter. And, I, I have no idea what I should do.” She batted her eyes and touched her chest as if it were some kind of secret code when she finished. “She means, that years of faithful love mean nothing against a title,” Songmaster Tek said with a bitter look on his face. The last time I saw him, the man displayed a charming demeanor, with his black hair and green eyes. It made the expression a poor fit for his face. Mirm scoffed, “If your love isn’t strong enough that’s your fault. If I were in your place, I’d long since found another noble to offer me land and title so that I could have wed.” Baron Wilchrest didn’t say anything, not with words. His eyes, though, pinned me in silent accusation, as if he wanted to say ‘see what you have gotten me into!’ I couldn’t blame the man if those were his thoughts. I didn’t care about this whole thing, to begin with. Wait, that’s not true. I did care. I cared because after living so long, I’d started to see humans as children. Even grown adults in positions of power, or relative power, lacked a maturity I wished they had. These four were good examples of this. So, I cared for humanity, in a way. It was one of the reasons war was so hard on me. I did care. And because I care, I meddled. And because I meddled, I am now seated in front of a woman who is trying to decide her marriage options. A woman who seems to think I am the perfect sounding board. In all likelihood, she’s looking for me to give her a trite common saying like ‘follow your heart’ or some other nonsense that can be disguised as a nugget of wisdom. Then she can make the decision she wants to make and blame me if the results are disastrous. Well, two can play at that game. “What do you want, Songmaster Tek?” I asked. “I just want my beloved back. I’m sorry for the song. I was angry about Mister Fenn taking so much of my lady’s time and how she just… just… disregarded all we had together. I only wrote that piece because I blamed you for it, but you were easy to blame because you weren’t there.” He turned to the Baroness and continued his rant, “My light! My love! The dove of my heart, I cannot be without you. Why do you do this to me? You know if you asked me to crawl on my knees to you I would!” The Baroness showed the good grace to blush and pulled a small fan from her sleeve to cover the lower half of her face. But before she could respond, I pointed at Mirm Fenn, and asked, “And you?” “When you sent me to Lark, and I saw her beauty for the first time, I was smitten. I don’t have the words that a [Bard] might, but I think she may have grown weary of such a soft love.” He said, his eyes and face close to hers, and his torso leaned forward in an imposing manner. Baroness Lark blushed even redder, and her fan fluttered faster. I pointed at Baron Wilchrest, “And you, Baron?” He seemed to have been waiting for that moment. He looked the lady in her eyes and smiled. Then the smile grew broad, before further growing into a giant grin. Then turned to me and said, “I brought you eggs, savior.” Lady Lark’s fan stopped fluttering. Her face showed her confusion, “Eggs?"