I moved over to the necromancer’s corpse, “Sorry, I just want to check something,” I said to Kyren as I removed the robe from his face. I gently opened one of his eyelids, but saw no hint of gold, only a murky green.

“Comforting isn’t it?” asked Kyren.

“I do appreciate that not all of the evil people in the world are children of Aurum,” I said.

We began searching the room and found a small pile of gold, loose gems, and a pair of black leather boots. Stone placed one of the boots next to his own, grunted with approval and removed his old ones.

“Really Stone? Boots from a tomb?’ asked Hrig.

“You act like you’ve never worn a dead man’s boots before.”

“That was different, I’d killed him myself.”

“Well Ellis said we were entitled to whatever treasures we found here and these seem like damn fine boots.” Stone stood up, squatting and taking a few steps to check the fit. He then bent at the knees and pushed off the ground. His eyes widened as he leapt six feet into the air and he just barely managed to land on his feet.

“You...couldn’t always have done that right?” I asked.

“No lad… I think it was the boots.”

Hrig laughed, “Do it again, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dwarf so high in the air before. Aside from the time I threw you onto that manticore.”

“It looks like next time I won't need to be thrown.”

Hrig sighed, "End of an era."

We made our way out of the tomb, taking the time to search any side passages for lingering undead, but finding nothing. We emerged from the tomb into the warm afternoon sunlight. We walked out of the graveyard and toward the manor. A servant poked his head out of a slice of hedge and waved at us before hollering back toward the manor that we were safe and on our way back.

Duke Ellis was ready to meet us when we arrived.

“The mission was a success I presume?” he asked.

“The tomb has been cleansed, but I insist you hire some people to help sort and rebury the newly re-dead. Otherwise you could have another problem on your hands.”

“I’ve already sent a runner into town to hire some extra help. I’ll make sure my ancestors and those of my servants are returned to their proper resting places. Was there a necromancer?”

I unslung the corpse from my shoulder and laid it carefully in front of him before removing the hood that was obscuring his face.

Ellis' eyes widened in surprise and the servants all began quietly talking to one another.

“What is it?”

“That’s the gravekeeper. The one we thought was missing.” he shook his head. “Hrid and Gaius' graves weren’t disturbed right?”

“They were fine. Thank you for treating them with such respect,” said Hrig.

“Of course, they were family. Did you find anything else?”

“Just some gold and gems and these,” Stone gave a six foot leap up the steps to stand next to Ellis.

“Great uncle Jack’s boots! I wondered where they’d gone. Well, I’d promised you anything you’d found was yours." He glanced down at the boots. "I don’t think they’d have fit me anyway. Here,” he handed Stone a sack that jingled as it landed in his hands.

Stone tested the weight, and satisfied, tied the pouch to his belt.

“And this,” said Ellis as he removed a scroll sealed with black ribbon from his cloak and held it toward Hrig, “Is for you.”

Hrig took it, untied the ribbon and read the document. “Thank you Ellis. Before my companions and I leave, let's sit and have some tea. We should say a proper goodbye this time.”

“Yes." He gave her a sad, but kind smile. "I’d like that. We’ll go to the second floor sitting room by my suite." Just as he was starting to head inside he stopped and turned back toward us. "Oh, Lady Kyren, we received a letter from your brothers. I didn’t realize you were a Wyrwind! I’d have put you in our finest rooms had I known.”

Kyren’s eyes widened and a blush touched her cheeks.“That wouldn’t have been necessary. Your hospitality was generous enough.” Kyren’s ears twitched and she regained her composure.“The letter?”

Ellis gestured to a servant who produced a letter sealed with sparkling green wax. She took a small knife from her belt, cut the seal and began reading.

“Did you know she was Wyrwind?” Stone whispered.

“No,” I said. Sevald had been aware of the Wyrwinds, his family’s estate was only a few over from them, but his family moved in different social circles. He hadn’t even known the Wyrwinds had a daughter, only two sons.

Kyren finished reading and turned to us. “Well, that's unfortunate.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It would appear that my brothers are going to try to kill me,” she said calmly, as if she was discussing the weather.

“What!?” said Stone and I in unison.

“Well, they invited me home for a visit, but it’s basically the same thing.” She smiled. “Things are...complicated in my family.”

“I’m beginning to think things are complicated in all families,” I said. My essences hadn’t had perfect home lives, but they were never as complicated as a daughter running a brothel, a Duke for a husband, and attempts at fratricide. Then again I suppose I ran my own ‘father’ through with a sword and chopped off his head to prove it.

“Why do they want to kill you?” asked Stone.

“My grandmother died recently and named me as inheritor of her estate. She’d been running the family for fifty years. My brother’s likely expected to add her holdings to the ones they inherited from our parents. I asked specifically not to inherit anything. My parents honored that in their wills, but grandmother never had much time for the wants of other people.”

“Is that the news you got in Cirros when we visited the temple?”

She nodded.

“Well… would you like us to kill them for you?” I asked.

Stone laughed, “I’ve never heard someone ask to commit a murder so politely before.”

Kyren smiled. “I may take you up on that, but I want to see if I can find another solution first.”

After that Kyren spent some time telling the servants how the gravekeeper turned necromancer's body should be disposed of. It involved a mixture of fire, a deep grave, and a stone slab.

Shortly after Kyren was done talking Hrig exited the manor at that moment, holding three packs that she tossed to each of us. She had a lightness to her that I hadn’t seen since we’d arrived in Buryn.

“I had Ellis replace our supplies that were left on the boat. I figured we may need them depending on what job Clara has for us next.”

“Actually, I was hoping you’d help me with a family matter,” said Kyren.

“It would be a little hypocritical of me not to at this point.”

"How was your talk?" I asked.

"It was good. We cleared the air about everything. I explained why I left, he explained how that made him feel. We talked about Hrid and Gaius for awhile. I didn't realize how much he liked them too, and how much their death hurt him." She paused, looking away to keep us from noticing her eyes were watering. "I think we'll always be a part of each other's lives. We just have different paths to take now."

...

Getting everything together for our trip didn't take long. Kyren spoke briefly with Ellis and he provided with a carriage as well as several additional bags whose contents she requested. He and Hrig had a short embrace before we got on the road heading west to the estates bordering the capital. The road was well maintained and free of obstacles so we were making good time.

“So, what should we expect?” asked Hrig.

“Probably poison, or assassins in the night. My brothers can be subtle, but they’re also impatient. They’ll likely use the most direct methods available.”

“They’ll probably try to separate us, make us sleep in different rooms. If they don’t poison us, that would make it easier for the assassins to kill us,” said Stone.

“I have a plan, though it may be a bit uncomfortable for everyone,” said Kyren.

“I love a good plan, what’re you thinking?” asked Stone.

“We’ll have to pretend that you and Hrig are servants, that’ll justify me keeping you in the servant’s quarters off the guest suite.”

“Couldn’t we just ignore what they want and just sleep in the same room? Or even just ignore their invite altogether?” asked Hrig.

“No. I’ve been dealing with them for my whole life. It’s time for me to put my house in order and the best way to do that will be to beat them at their own game so absolutely that they fall in line.” Kyren’s voice was as calm as it had always been, but the content of what she was saying was very different from anything I ever expected to hear from her.

“Why now?” I asked.

“We’re in the neighborhood and it’s what my grandmother would’ve wanted. It’s my job to honor the ancient and wise. She was both.”

“And what will I be doing? I can’t pose as a servant in full plate.”

“Well we have two options, one practical and another less so, but it would help to put my brothers off balance.”

“Go on.”

“You can either be my bodyguard or my betrothed.”

“Your betrothed?” I stammered out.

“Yes, it would justify you being in the same room as me even when it’s just me and my brothers and as you're of noble blood as well they may have to be wary of upsetting another family by harming me or you.”

“But as a bodyguard he could justify being with you, sleeping in your quarters and even eating your food to check it for poison,” said Stone.

“Yes, but me having a bodyguard would also alert them to the fact that I’m wary of them and may make them attempt to be more subtle.”

“Do they think you won’t expect anything of them? Do they really know so little about you?” I asked.

“I was mostly raised by my grandmother, they don’t really know me and what interactions I've had with them they always tended to get what they wanted from me. They don’t understand that I was giving into their demands out of an attempt to be patient with them rather than any fear.”

“I say you tell them he’s your betrothed,” said Hrig.

“Why?” I asked, incredulousness seeping into my tone.

“I think it would be funny.”

“Aye,” said Stone with a smile, “Also keeping them off balance and making them underestimate you seems the best route to take.”

“Well, won’t they know who we are? Hrig is the Duchess of Death, Stone is well known in underground circles, and we’ve all been travelling with you as adventurers for a while now.”

“It won’t matter. They don’t bother keeping up with tales of adventurers or what I’m doing and if Hrig and Stone are wearing servants' clothes they won’t look twice at them.”

“Wouldn’t it be a bit scandalous for a couple that’s only betrothed to be in the same room overnight?” asked Stone.

“Not with Sevald’s oath. My brothers aren’t religious, but it’ll be hard to deny his oath once they see how seriously he takes it.”

“I’m surprised you left, you seem to be a natural at this type of plotting,” said Hrig.

“You should have seen her in Cirros with me, I couldn’t have upended Talen’s operations without her.”

Kyren produced a rare frown, “Just because I’m good at it doesn’t mean I enjoy it. Adventuring, helping people, and healing have always felt like my true calling. My service to Sidi has more value than being a Wyrwind.”

We spent the rest of the ride discussing plans and contingencies while the carriage took us through the winding country roads that moved people between the lordly estates of Caedun’s nobility. Eventually we came to what looked like, rather than a lordly estate, a castle built for a siege. A high stone wall surrounded it with towers in each corner built with small slits to allow archers to fire from it. There looked to be attempts to beautify the structure with flowers and vines being grown over the walls, but they did little to hide the ugly practicality of the structure.

Kyren seemed to predict our questions, “The Wyrwind lands used to border the elvish kingdoms back when there were frequent disputes. Our lands were developed to withstand frequent assaults. The castle itself has hidden passages for escapes, secret dungeons, and even ancient traps built into it. We aren’t even sure if we’ve found all of them though because each new lord would build more after assuming lordship and they didn't tend to be great recordkeepers. That's how my parents passed actually. About five years ago they were working on renovating one corner of the estate and got riddled with darts. The darts themselves did nothing, but the poison in them was still active." She paused for a moment, "My grandmother's estate is tucked into the corner of our lands, it’s much more modern.”

The carriage was waved through the gates and made its way onto the estate proper. The area behind the walls was much more typical of a lordly estate. There was a garden, several sculptures and the houses built inside were in an older style, but still had a much more inviting look to them than the walls outside. What was less inviting was the large number of rough looking men who were patrolling the grounds.

“Mercenaries?” asked Hrig.

“Aye,” responded Stone.

With that added wrinkle we exited the carriage.