Chapter 040:

A familiar, and yet nearly forgotten, weight lay heavily on Anton's arm as he awoke from the god's dream. The golden light of the early morning shone through the wooden slats, that worked as windows for the bedroom, lightly gracing his face and his surroundings. At least he knew that he was back in the real world.

The weight shifted again, moving closer towards him. He looked down and saw the dishevelled hair of Verona's head lying just below his own. It was their first full night together after quite some time apart. He moved his arm, wrapped around her waist and onto her taught stomach. Every part of her was so soft and delicate underneath his fingers, her body twitched as he ran his fingers slowly over the outlines of her muscles. And her marks.

Jira had been an interesting meeting for her. It caused her quite a bit of pain, but there might have been a few hints thrown into her vitriol to Verona. He sighed, knowing that he could do very little to remove the pain that it caused her. He lent forward and kissed her on the head. The sensation started to awaken Verona. As before she mewled as she stretched her limbs out, nearly hitting him in the head. This was her new morning ritual. Her hands seeked out his head before patting his beard gently.

Verona mumbled something as she awoke fully. Her tried eyes, still fuzzy and out of focus, opened and looked up at him. A smile grew on her soft pink lips as she hauled herself up and next to him. She sat on her knees, allowing the fur covers to roll of her body and expose her body to the sunlight. No matter how many times he saw or felt it he knew that he would never loose interest. Her giant breasts, still white and untarnished underneath the red tribal marks, heaved with every sleepy breath.

Sometimes his mind wandered, and wondered what her mother had looked like for Verona to be this way. According to what he had managed to get out of the other villagers, she had been quite the woman.

Thankfully she could not hear his thoughts as she brought up both hands and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. Anton still had his hand around her waist, pulled her closer along with a cute mewl that escaped her lips. Sitting on her knees seemed to be to uncomfortable so she moved to her hip, she made no attempt to cover herself. They already knew how each-other looked and felt to be worried about exposing themselves.

"Good morning." she said, stifling a yawn as she stretched out her arms and let them flop onto the bed. "That... That night really happened, didn't it?"

It was not worry on her face, rather she was seeking assurance that she was not mad.

"You know, with my crazy and scary god, your nice and kind ones, and that red headed one that planted her tits on my head as she lent over to talk to you, and that weirdly mean spirited elven bitch. The one dressed like a whore?"

Anton brought his free hand and scratched his head and beard. He needed to do something about that and soon.

"I suppose when you put them like that, yes. Yes it did happen."

Verona breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, otherwise I thought I had completely lost my mind."

She chuckled as she pulled him up for a deep kiss. When they finally parted she was flustered but also concerned. A hand traced over the marks on her chest.

"My... Urges. Do you think I can control them?"

Anton nodded, taking both her hands and entwining them with his own.

"Yes, I think we can. We will find a way no matter what. I promised that we would in the dream world and I mean it now."

Verona smiled warmly again.

"Jira... She said something about me needing to properly control and understand my power. What... What do you think that means?"

Anton slumped his shoulders a little and looked up at the wooden ceiling.

What does that actually mean? At the time I was more worried about Nithroel. Usually it means some sort of soul searching, perhaps? Like why she actually chose it...maybe.

"You have something?" she asked.

Her face was very close as she raised herself up and almost onto him. Close enough that he could feel the warmth of her breath.

"Back on Earth, there were some stories about this, when someone would get an incredible power."

He rubbed the small of her back, where the glyph mark lay, to which she let a seductive moan.

"But I think in this case it will have something to do with what you were thinking when you got it."

"But that was my-

"Yeah it was your subconscious."

Anton scratched his head.

"So that means that you really wouldn't know."

Verona looked down, dejected.

"When I had the god's dream, after the battle with the Yellow Goblins, I met Jira. Along with my other gods. She was a little bit dismissive but nothing like what she was with you."

Verona looked up at him.

"So she did not call me a cunt and then act all fake and nice the next moment?"

Anton chuckled as he rubbed her head, she did not find it funny.

"She was a little annoyed with you then. She said that you were looking for power... A way to fight alongside me as an equal."

Verona flushed vividly and turned her head away. It was so cute to see her so embarrassed. If they had time later he wanted to see it even more.

"She mentioned that she could do that, provide a way for you to protect me. And then something happened."

Verona, still flushing, looked oddly at him. She titled her head and opened her mouth to speak but did not. The question was obvious.

"She said it was something like your subconscious lept at her and started to strangle her, even though she is a god and that should not be possible. When she accepted, and gave you as much of her power as your subconscious demanded, you relented."

Verona looked a little scared. At herself.

"Apparently she was a little scared by what happened. So I think that's why she's still a little cross at you."

Verona mumbled something, it sounded like an insult, but Anton did not hear. He was remembering what also happened in that dream. Jira seemed a little bit cross with him when the first met. She was sure that he had something to do with Verona ripping power from her. That all stopped when she had seen the crystal embedded in his hand. Her whole demeanour changed, then she seemed perplexed and confused at his own gods. They had not said what the crystal actually did, but he was sure that Jira knew something. He had forgotten to ask then as well as the last time.

He had not asked, as the dream ended soon after, and there were more important things to worry about this time. This time it was more important to deal with Nithroel. It was starting to worry him, like a lump that refused to go away. He would ask them the next time he saw them. Though, that may not be for a long time. He could only hope that it was not something terrible eating away at his mind and body.

Something poked his cheeks hard. He looked at the source, Verona had a troubled frowning face.

"You did that looking off into the distance thing again."

Her face almost formed into a pout as she lent closer.

"I don't like that. It makes me worry when you do that. It's never something good..."

He answered with a kiss, deep and long. When they parted Verona seemed satisfied with his response.

"Okay." she wiped away the thin strand that connected their lips. "So, I need to make amends to Jira? For something that my subconscious did?"

"I... I don't think so. Every time you use your magic, and possibly when you kill something with it, the gods get some power from that. With how many Kobolds that you killed I think she would have gotten quite a bit. Hopefully it shouldn't be too many more."

"That whole things about the gods getting power from us... It all sounds a bit vague."

"It is. I don't really understand any of it myself, but Tethra was on deaths door when I first met her. She could not even speak properly and walking seemed to take a great effort. Now she can say speak whole sentences without having too much of a coughing fit. And it seems to be from me using my prayer power. You know, for healing and that thing where I made our eyesight better and also my hearing...I'll need to look into that later."

"So, what then? Since I'm guessing that Jira's not going to make it any easier for me..."

Anton shrugged lightly. "Perhaps is has something to do with the feeling of controlling every part of your power. It may be one of those things about learning self control."

Verona huffed and turned away.

"I have great self control!"

He chuckled as he gave her another kiss. She pouted when they parted.

"Fine," she mumbled as she tried to hide her flush, "Any ideas on how to do that?"

"It would involve using your power quite a bit. And exploring it..."

Verona scrunched her face up.

"There's really no other way... Is there? I can't feel anything right now when I'm not using it. If I start-"

"Hold on a second." Anton cut her off.

She tilted her head in confusion.

"I really don't think we should be doing this in our bed and house. Just in case something happens."

Verona opened her mouth but then closed it shut. "Right. That's not a good idea, not right here."

"Also, not when we are both naked."

Verona looked down and laughed.

"Yeah... That would be pretty frightening for the enemy, wouldn't it?"

Verona gave his leg a pat as she hopped off the bed. She bent over, revealing a very shapely behind, as she picked up their scattered clothes.

"You know, having all our bits bouncing all over the place."

"I can guess what that would mean, Ver."

She smiled as she handed him his pants and shirt.

"I'm pretty sure there were ancient warriors, on my old world, that used to fight like that."

"Sounds odd."

Anton put on his shirt and pants while Verona was still searching for hers.

"I think it makes them much harder to grab hold of; your hands would just slip off if they tried to grab you, and weapons would not get caught in clothing or armour. As well as terrifying the enemy."

"You really said it like that? Harder?"

She looked back as she put on her shirt, her face a wild and cheeky grin. He knew exactly what she was implying. Both their faces heated up in response.

"I don't think I should practice with my blood power in the training fields, too many people. Same with the central plaza..."

Verona turned around and picked her chest piece and handed it to Anton.

"It's still easier if you help me."

He put the armour over her head and began to fasten up the clips.

"You could do it in one of the abandoned barns?"

Verona shook her head.

"They've all been filled with something useful. Food, wood, coal and other supplies. There isn't one spare. I think that we're going to need to build some more."

Anton was genuinely surprised. He had not asked about that specific situation of supplies and goods when he returned, there were far more pressing matters.

"Haven't you all been busy... Before the Kobolds at least."

Verona laughed, mainly because Anton's fingers started to tickle her sides as he neared the end of the fastening.

"We did quite well in everything. All things considering."

Anton gave one final pull on the clips to make sure they would not come undone. Her picked up the other pieces of armour, but Verona took them off him. Those she wanted to do herself.

"Perhaps the east of the village." Anton suggested. "Not much has happened there. Not so much a private place, but you should be able to do it out in the fresh air and it'll be away from anything important. I'll make sure that nobody bothers you while you're trying to concentrate."

Verona paused before nodding with a smile.

"Okay. But first we need to attend the council meeting, let them know about the treaty with Nithroel and what those terms mean."

"Excellent idea. It'll give me a chance to catch up on what people have been up to in a lot more detail. I'll also be able to see how Jonathan is going with my project now that he has the explosive powder."

Verona gave one final bump on her pieces of armour. Satisfied they were not going to fall off she turned to the door.

"Are you okay going out like that?" Anton asked, pointing to her arms.

She was wearing a long sleeved shirt, which left the snaking red marks on her hands exposed. The same could be said of her neck.

"I... Um. Hang on."

She returned to her side of the bed and rummaged around underneath. Eventually she brought out a long piece of cloth, it looked quite soft for the material of the village. With a flick she wrapped it around her neck just like a scarf, covering most of her marks.

"I can cope with the ones on my hands, now, but the ones on my neck might be a little tough for others to see."

She turned to him, her face beaming in a smile as she bobbed her head either side.

"This is quite comfy. Besides, the way you acted last night, you seem to really like them."

He could not hold in his laughter.

"I do. I really do."

She laughed, dodging his attempt at bringing her in for a hug as she made for the door again.

"That was terrible. So, how do you think the former bondsmen liked the night here?" she asked, making sure that Anton had followed. "It's a little different than sleeping outside or how bad it was in Maxill."

"I hope they found it better than it was in Maxill. I'm a little worried about Kal."

Verona made it quickly to the front door before turning around.

"I just hope they remembered that she's not to be touched."

"They won't forget." Verona added. "Not unless they want a blast of fire and lightning through their heads."

She opened the door, the streams of a new days light poured in. She took a deep breath and walked outside. She waited until Anton was out before closing the door.

"First night, and morning, that I haven't had to wake up to Kobolds. At least it's not all blue."

He rubbed her hair vigorously.

"Where's your barrette and chain?" He asked.

Her face paled as she dived back into their house.

"Good morning." came a different voice, lighter than Verona's.

He turned away from the house and looked towards the road. This early, there were not many people out and about yet, apart from the occasional guard.

There was one figure walking towards him. Kal wore her usual cloth wrappings underneath a pair of pants and a shirt. Over that she wore her cloak and kept her hood up. Thankfully she was no longer wearing the face cloth she had been forced to for the past two weeks. On her back was the gifted bow and a half full quiver of arrows. He would need to make sure that she could get some more.

Seeing the tanned, sharp, and no longer haggard face brought a smile to his own. Her horizontal cat slit eyes locked onto him and she too broke into a rare smile. As she walked he did not miss the hilts of the two daggers on her hips, almost hidden by the cloak. She was hoping that she would not be attacked but still planned for the worst. A cautious and careful person despite her improving surroundings.

"Good morning Kal." He said as soon as she was close. "I hope that you had a pleasant night, nobody tried anything?"

She smiled and shook her head.

"Nothing. It was unbelievably good to sleep in a bed, undisturbed, for the whole night." she bowed her head lightly. "Thank you for escorting me back after dinner."

"It's what any man should do for a drunk lady."

Kal flushed, her ears moved underneath her hood as she tried to avert from his gaze.

"I... I wasn't that drunk." she spoke very softly. It seemed that she was very embarressed to let him see her in that state.

"You were having quite a bit of difficulty walking in a straight line. I think that qualifies as being drunk."

Kal pursed her lips as she desperately fought back the flush. It was something that he was not expecting to see of her. Anton found himself smiling as he remembered that sight.

"Did you drink when you were out in the wilderness?"

She seemed relieved to be on a slightly different topic.

"No." she said as she shook her head. "Only a very few times, when things were going there worst, and not that often. Alcohol dulls the senses and makes you an easier target."

"To be attacked or for someone to attack you?"

Kal bit onto her lower lip, all her canine teeth were on display.

"Both." If she answered. "I was never drunk but I could steal quite a bit from drunk people. They were very easy targets. Wandering alone outside the small villages."

"Is that where you got your clothes?"

Kal seemed a little embarrassed as she nodded.

"Sort of..."

"And the daggers?"

Her face darkened instantly, she seemed quite angry at him.

"No." came a swift and curt reply.

The warmth had gone from her face and body as she stared at him.

What are those daggers to you? You seem more concerned with me thinking you stole them rather than someone else holding them.

The way she continued to stare, with a deep and searching angry look, was rather unsettling. A few seconds later it was gone. Immediately after that she looked quite apologetic.

"I'm sorry that I implied that I thought that you stole those daggers." Anton said, cutting of a potential apology from Kal.

"Thanks. They are very important to me. I-"

"Sorry Anton!" Verona shouted as she burst through the door. "It took a while to get them on right."

Verona spun around, letting her hair fly about. On the back of her head was the metal chain, keeping her hair pulled back in a ponytail. On the front right of her head was the silver and red star barrette. Now, in the proper daylight, it looked even prettier on her. It was not much, in the way of jewellery, but the way she were it naturally and innocently took his breath away. She noticed this as well.

"I can't believe that I was about to head out without them on." She shook her head as she went in for a hug. "After all that you went through to get them."

He pulled her in for a hug, her body twisting so he was hugging her from behind. She opened her mouth to speak when she realised Kal was standing close by.

"Kal! I'm so sorry I did not say hello and was just talking like you weren't there. Hello! How are you?"

"Very good and well rested. Although..."

"Although...what?"

Kal looked quite sheepish, more so than he had seen before.

"I've been thinking about my place in Atros... And I really haven't found something that I could be useful for when we're not heading outside the village and into the wilderness."

"You're our friend, Kal." Verona said defiantly, as if that was enough for her.

Kal smiled as warmly as she could, taking a few paces closer.

"Thank you, but I was thinking of something more..."

She could not find the right words to describe how she felt. The feeling of free-loading and not having a clear way of contributing was never a good one, especially for someone like her.

"Actually," Anton began, "We were about to get a Council meeting underway to discuss some new events."

Kal looked confused, raising both her dark aqua eyebrows. The only time that their council had concerned her was when she arrived and they needed to decide what they were going to do with her, finally deciding to let her stay. Bringing that up, just after talking about not knowing how to help, was nothing but confusion for her. Anton saw this as well.

"There's not really an open spot right now, but since our numbers and needs have grown, I was going to see about setting up some more positions so that the goings on of the village could be better handled. Like bringing Raston on for relations with Maxill and the Qaiviel kingdom at large, as well as Dana as the same sort of position that Avery is, except for our mounted soldiers."

Kal still looked confused, so too did Verona as she bent her head backwards to look up at him.

"And also bringing someone on that know s about beast-kin."

It took Kal a few seconds to process what he had just said. Her eyes widened in shock, though her hidden tail started to move in delight.

"Me? But I'm just-"

"The perfect person for the position." Anton said, cutting her off. Verona understood and nodded deeply in agreement.

"While I know that it will take some time before we can get to Seocuria, through the Graterious Empire, and more beast-kin, I think it's important that we start now. To get the people and Atros itself as ready as possible to different types of people living here."

Kal was still utterly dumbfounded. Her mouth opened and shut, the only noise emanating were tiny squeaks. Verona turned to face him properly and pulled down on his shirt.

"The bondsmen might not like this. Having a beast-kin seemingly influencing decisions."

"Let them. One day there'll be more than one beast-kin living in Atros. Besides," He looked up at Kal, "Once you get to know them they are just as normal as everyone else."

There was a hint of pride, and embarrassment, to her face. Having responsibility, power and duty must still be an alien concept to her. Another tug on his shirt made him look down again.

"What's my position then?" Verona asked. "I don't have any of the skills or knowledge," she nodded to Kal, "That the others have."

He rubbed her head again, making sure to avoid knocking off the barrette.

"You... You are the finest, and first, mage soldier that Atros has to offer. Our elite commando."

Verona nodded lightly, she seemed very happy.

“You're going to have to tell me what that word means later.” she whispered to him.

"And, from what Sybil told me, was that you did an extremely good job at getting the council to work much better."

That brought a wild smile to her face.

"I'd like to think I did. Alright, let's go." Verona started to lead then away. "The rest of them will be getting up pretty early for this first meeting. Everyone was so tired they didn't even go to the celebration. I wonder if we're going to have a proper one tonight? Anyway, we just need to get someone to let Dana and Raston know."

She turned around and kept walking backwards, a few paces away.

"Do you think they are living in the same house yet?"

"I don't know. After the Yellow Goblin incident I think she was going to live with her brother. I don't know how well he would like them both living underneath the same roof."

Verona snapped her fingers at him.

"That reminds me, we going to have a fourth person to add to the council."

Verona smiled wildly and chuckled but said nothing more. Quickly the smile turned to a frown and to a look of horror. He was about to ask when she ran back towards their house, not saying a word. Kal looked on confused but shrugged as she turned to Anton.

"Any idea who this fourth person is?"

Verona had reached their house and nearly ripped the door off to get inside.

"Honestly, no. I don't know who or what it could be. I'm sure that she'll explain it later."

Verona emerged a few seconds later with her red crystal tipped spear in her hand. She ran back towards them, her face full of embarrassment.

"First day you're back and I'm already forgetting things. Important things, like my gifts and my weapon."

She laughed as she took the lead again.

---[]---

The council had gathered and the new people were about to be informed on their upcoming positions. However, the first person on the list was already having second thoughts about their new appointment.

"Is this really necessary?" Raston asked.

"I thought we had already agreed on this, while we were still in the forest." Anton said.

Raston could not deny it but remained quite flustered at the council table.

Verona had told him that the last meeting they had, before the Kobolds had first attacked, was done outside. So they could enjoy the fresh air and sunlight. Anton did not have anything against it in principle, but they had returned to doing it inside the Main Hall now that he had returned. Apparently the going's on of the outside could get rather distracting. Now there were some potentially sensitive details that needed to be discussed.

Raston sat at one of the four new chairs provided on the council table. Everyone sat in seemingly random places but Verona had made sure to get a seat next to him. Strangely Kal wound up on the seat on the other side of Anton, so now he was stuck between the two girls. Beside Kal sat Dana, who, while not friendly to many people, seemed to treat Kal with some great deal of respect. Beyond her was the still flustering Raston, and beyond that was an empty chair for Verona's mysterious fourth person who had yet to arrive.

"Now that I've had some time to think about it and...I'm not so sure." Raston said as he scratched his head. "I'm not too keen on going through that forest again."

"So the Duchess is not a problem?" Anton asked.

Raston chuckled nervously. "Not compared to being eaten by wolves, no."

"You were attacked by wolves?" Sybil asked.

During their brief reunitement, after having dealt with the Kobolds, he did not explain what had happened on the trip to and from Maxill. He was far more concerned about what exactly happened at Atros. After the items were dealt with satisfactorily he would have to explain. The Orcs, and their disappearance, would be of great interest, especially since what he did to the thralls.

"Yes. But Kal managed to find them first, so we were able to fend them off with no casualties. Some light injuries, but nothing serious."

He was not going to embarrass Kal by saying she had a tooth lodged in her foot and decided not to tell anyone for fear of exposure of her skin. A quick glance revealed that she was thinking this as well.

"As I said, you will have the best weapons and armour we can afford to spare."

Raston took another deep breath but looked somewhat unconvinced. He was, very much so, pressured into saying yes, and that was before they knew about the Kobold attacks on Atros. Perhaps he did not want to leave now.

"Raston, it will be fine." Dana said in a cool voice. "If he says you will be safe then I am going to believe him."

"I really don't want to leave here-"

"Anton can't be the one going each time." Dana spoke further. "So he needs someone that we can all trust."

The last few words were uncharacteristically light and sweet for Dana. Anton had secretly wondered if Dana and Avery were related in some way. There was a tug on his sleeve, from Verona. She gave him an odd look, quite mischievous, as she looked towards them again. It appeared the sweet words of his girlfriend did the trick. He relaxed and nodded towards Anton.

"Alright. But I want a day or so to myself at both ends of the journey."

"What?" Dana asked, her voice was even colder than normal.

That's right. Back in Maxill, Isobell slapped you on the butt right infront of her and she was not impressed. Maybe that's what spurned Dana into action, knowing that there was someone else after him. Who really knows...

"I'll need some time to relax after the journey."

"Fine. Do whatever."

Dana looked thoroughly disinterested in him. Anton hoped that she was just pouting, though Raston appeared to be taking it seriously.

"Wow." Verona mumbled, quiet enough that only Anton could hear it.

"I... I'll make sure that I'll turn around from Maxill as soon as I'm done." Raston half pleaded.

"Good." Dana said, looking pleased with herself.

"Wow." Verona said again, louder this time.

Loud enough for the others to hear. They all looked at her. She seemed to be a little uncomfortable with the attention but held her ground.

"It would not be that long." Verona told Dana. "Anton was away for nearly thirty days but I managed."

There was a snigger from Sam, Verona closed her eyes and fought off a rising flush. Sam had managed to extract details about their sex life while he was away. Verona had relented to make the questions stop, though the whole episode was rather embarrassing. Especially after Sam had started offering advice and what she should do.

"Are you sure-"

"Don't." Verona cut Sam off, raising a hand towards her.

"What are you talking about?" Jonathan asked.

Both his children were not present. Anton reminded himself that he would need to talk with Jonathan about the hand cannon project later.

"They're together now." Verona answered, Sam nodding as well. “A couple.”

"I..." was all that Dana could say before she buried her head in her hands to avoid her flush.

Anton thought it was cute, the way she behaved, although being in a consenting relationship was nothing to be ashamed about. It was not as if that they had just been discussing their private lives. A quick glance at Sam gave Anton a worrying thought. She would find out what they were up to, one way or another.

"It's fine you two." Anton stepped in amongst the chuckles of the others. "Nobody is judging you. They're just having a little laugh is all."

Seeing someone like Dana embarrassed to such a state was a a little funny, but they still needed to continue.

"We'll figure out a proper arrangement for you for your travels. Just remember to not cause an incident."

Raston nodded. He tried to calm Dana down but it seemed to make things worse. She started to relax on her own as Anton turned his attention to her.

"Jeff?" Anton asked, turning to him.

Jeff coughed and looked towards Dana.

"Dana..." He waited until she had calmed down completely before continuing. "You have displayed great skill in using and leading the mounted soldiers of our burgeoning army."

Dana no longer flushed but was rather confused. Unlike Raston, she had no real idea as to why she was here.

"As those who can ride horses look up to you, we've decided that you will be in charge of our horses and their riders. Our mounted soldiers, such as they are right now."

"I'm sure I'm not exactly the best person for that."

"From what I have seen, the other riders respect you and follow your commands. That is more than enough for you to take this position."

"I... I will." she said with a slight bow to her head. "I will be do my best."

"Excellent." Anton replied, Jeff seemed to share his enthusiam.

Now Anton was about to move onto the third person, one he hoped would not cause strife. Kal, so far, had not been questioned as to why she was present at the meeting. He hoped it was not just because she came in with him.

"Now, Kal."

Kal tensed at the mention of her name.

"One day I would like to see many more beast-kin, besides you, living and working in Atros."

He stopped, glad to hear no signs of discontent.

"I realise that it will be be some time before that happens, but I think it's important that we begin now. Getting everyone and everything ready. I do not know if certain... Types of beast-kin have different needs, but I would like to have you to represent them on this council."

He knew it was a little long winded and not the most eloquent way of putting it, but when he looked over it appeared to have come over well. Her ears were pricked up in happiness and her tail, that only he could see from his position, was trying to burst free. She was extremely happy, even though everything she had experienced was keeping her from fully expressing her joy.

"Thank you...Anton." she said, the long pause before his name was odd but now was certainly not the time to bring it up. "I will do my best to repay the trust you continue to put in me."

She smiled, warm and genuine. Something that, until a few months ago, must have seen like an impossibility to her.

"Since you would want to know, most beast-kin have the same needs as humans. There are a few different ones, like the lamia’s. Or I should say, were. But mostly-"

"What are they?" Verona asked.

"Like centaurs but with a very long snake half instead of a horse."

Everyone, except Anton, looked bewildered by what she had said. Whatever the reason it caused Kal to shrink away and begin to fold her body in.

"Do you know what a centaur is?" Anton asked, coming to Kal's aid.

He got shakes of heads in response. Even Bertram and Sybil did not seem to know properly.

"I know a bit but I don't know everything." Bertram said, as if he could read Anton's look.

"Well," Anton began, "Imagine you cut a horses head off at the shoulders..."

Dana looked horrified, while the others were still confused.

"And if you put someone, from the hips up, onto that, that would roughly what a centaur is like."

"Oh. Okay." Jeff said first. "So they can move really fast but still use their hands like we do?"

"Basically." Anton replied, looking at the recovered Kal, "And one of those lamia is...?"

"Right. Instead of the horse half it's a snakes..."

Kal looked around until her eyes settled on Zac. He had been quiet so far but started to look bemused as all the attention became fixed on him.

"So about the same amount as... Zac?"

Zac frowned as he looked down at his stomach.

Anton did not want an incident so soon.

"I think she is saying that if you were to be the lower half of a lamia, it would take the same amount of body...mass as you? I'm guessing?"

Zac frowned, at him then at Kal.

"You could have said it better." He grumbled at Kal.

"I'm sorry." Kal bowed her head. "If you haven't seen one they can be a little hard to describe. The tail is such a large part of their body. Not that I've actually seen one."

Oh dear.

There were some frowns from the other council members. They understood Kal's foreshadowing.

"Anyway, it's quite long and they use it to move about, just like a snake does. So they would need a bit more room and a few other things to live comfortably. I'm pretty sure that they were meant to have problems staying warm."

"You said you haven't actually seen one?" Anton left his question hanging.

Kal nodded and looked very sad as she picked at the ends of her fingers.

"My mothers older friend told her what happened. The lamia breed were a large investment in food to maintain. All their tail was muscle so they needed to eat quite a bit of meat compared to someone like me. My kind are much more thin but still able to do the work the Seocurians wanted done. The Lamia's also had a tendency to snap the necks of the slave owners with their tail while they weren't looking. So it was quite an effort just to use and kep them."

Because they cost so much you guys decided to get rid of them and get more 'efficient' breeds like Kal to take over?

"They had quite a few good 'traits', like tough skin and resilience. So... They bred those parts into a new type of beast-kin, the Cobras, and once they had all that they wanted..."

Kal wrapped her fingers on the table as she grimmaced.

"They got rid of them all."

"Bloody hell." Verona said.

"They wiped out an entire species? Just to improve their workforce a bit?" Anton asked.

Kal nodded.

"That... Um." Jeff tried to speak but could not find the words.

"If we do have some beast-kin settle here," Sybil began, "It would be good for them to know that something like that isn't going to happen here."

"Same here." Sam continued. "With someone like Kal here, who has already been for a while, if I were a beast-kin, I would feel a bit more safe."

Kal smiled, but Anton thought he could see something past it.

She is probably going to be treated quite badly by most of the full beast-kin, if Earth has anything to tell us about mixed ethnicities, as well as most of the humans. Still, it will be better than a full human speaking for the beast-kin. Otherwise it might feel like they never left Seocuria. Hopefully...

"Exactly." Anton began. "So Kal, welcome to your new position."

"Thank you again, Anton." Kal bowed her head quite deeply. "I won't let you down."

"With that done... Wait, Verona?"

"Hmm?"

"You said that there was to be a fourth person?"

"Ah yes. The new Marshall."

Verona looked very happy, looking over to Sybil who nodded at him. She turned her head up at him.

"Right before the Kobolds started to attack, I was talking with Sybil about... Um."

She looked rather sheepishly at Raston.

"The possibility that some of the new bondsmen might not have the same respect that you and the first 'batch' of former bondsmen do."

Raston frowned but nodded as well.

"I cannot speak for all of them. It is entirely possible that Duchess Belinda threw in a few more of the badly behaved people, not that they got up to anything on the journey."

"They were miles from home in a very dangerous forest. If they wanted to survive they would need to work together." Anton added. "Once they settle down however... Speaking of, has there been any trouble from them?"

He directed the question to Jeff and Avery, who both shook their head.

Verona coughed to get the attention back on her.

"Both of those things is why we need a Marshall."

"Both?"

"We can't just piling stuff onto Jeff for him to handle." Verona explained. "With the new bondsmen, there will be some that are going to become soldiers. So Jeff is going to need to focus on that. He can't just keep being called away to deal with someone being a thief or whatever."

Anton nodded.

"I agree. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"I've already got a name in mind." Sybil said, her wrinkled face turning into a smile. "They fit Verona's idea for the Marshall."

Anton looked down at her. She was beaming with pride.

"Someone that knows Atros, knows what disorder will do, and has a good reason to make sure they uphold the law."

"Sounds like a rare person. Are they just outside or...?"

Sybil shook her head.

"We really didn't have much time or energy when the Kobolds started to attack to check with them. And since you've been back we've been celebrating that we are still alive. After the council meeting is over we were going to check with them if they wanted the position."

"Who is it?" Raston asked.

Anton was curious himself. To find someone that they trusted enough for the position, he wanted to see who they found. Sybil smiled sweetly.

"We'll let you know once they agree. I don't want to put them in an awkward position if they disagree."

Anton could not argue with that.

"Am I right in thinking that there is more to this meeting than just getting more people to help?" Zac asked.

He kept his arms folded. Perhaps the earlier comment from Kal was still playing on his mind.

"Yes there is." Anton nodded. "Quite a few important things. The most important one being what happened last night."

There were some blank faces looking at him.

"About the Kobold attacks, and the goddess they worship, Nithroel."

Now there were frowns all around.

"That's the goddess that had her symbol on those totems, right? In the Kobold camp." Jeff asked.

"Yes." Anton replied. "When we were in the Kobold camp, after you had brought down the stone totems, I asked my gods if they could arrange some sort of meeting between our gods and Nithroel."

Anton put his glyphed hand onto the table. Verona looked a little uncomfortable, that was not a good night for her.

"I did not know if it had worked, so we carried on as usual. Then, when we were asleep, both Verona and I were dragged into a... Special dream, where we met our gods and Nithroel."

"What is your god like, Verona?" Sam asked. She was the one that helped Verona when her marks continued to grow. There was no malice in her voice, from her perspective she wanted to know what sort of god tried to mess with her friends mind.

"A bit of a bitch." Verona replied truthfully.

Anton chuckled, none of the others did.

"Her name is Jira. And she can be really nasty if you get on her bad side, like how she thinks of Verona. For now at least."

All looked in concern at her. Verona shrugged.

"After we see about the Marshall, we're going to the eastern side of Atros and going to try and figure it all out. My power is a little hard to control right now, but we've got some insight from Jira." Verona scratched her head. "I hope I can get it under control."

"We will." Anton said adamantly. "Jira was there as a mediator of sorts, so nobody did or said anything stupid. I'll skip the fine details of what was exactly said, but we have a treaty now between us."

"I still don't like the idea of us getting dragged into a war between your gods." Bertram said.

There appeared to be some agreement, not that Anton disagreed with the sentiment.

"Neither do I. But this is the reality that we are now faced with. Though now we probably don't have to worry about that."

"What does Nithroel look like?" Kal asked. "I only knew that she looked like a wood elf. Whatever they actually look like..."

Verona snorted, getting quite a few odd looks.

"She is a very rude and arrogant woman that dressed like a whore. I don't know what an elf looks like either, but I suppose she looks like one. Just a very bad one."

Everyone, especially Kal, was taken aback by her bluntness. Verona was less than impressed with Nithroel on their first meeting. So was Anton.

"She wore basically nothing." Verona continued. "A very slim, thin, dress with huge holes cut out to show off most of her body. Just about letting her giant breasts hang out for all of us to see. Not exactly what I would expect someone to dress up if they were going to a peace meeting to stop a war."

"We've got a very strange and nasty enemy then." Bertram mumbled.

"Well, as I said, we managed to get a treaty with her."

"How did you manage that?" Zac asked, unfolding his arms and resting them on the table. "If this god has all those Kobolds worshipping her..."

"There was something called the Sacrament of Binding, and Nithroel was coerced into performing it. Apparently every gods knows about it and there are harsh consequences for her breaking it."

"Which are?" Bertram asked.

"They were not exactly clear, but it was enough to make her back down. There were also other reasons as to why she actually agreed."

"I hope that it actually works...I like it here." Kal spoke softly.

She did not want to loose the only thing she could even remotely call a home, especially just after she had found it. Could she even return to the isolated life she led before after tasting this one? Anton had no idea. He did not want to find out either.

"Which brings us to the actual details of the treaty. Nithroel will not send any of her followers against us and we will not seek out and kill hers."

"Sounds simple enough." Jeff said with a grumble.

"Nithroel said that not all of her followers are... That intelligent. So there may still be some attacks and skirmishes from beasts that are not aligned with her, or at least they don't appear to be."

Jeff frowned deeply, pondering what that actually meant.

"So what you're saying is that we can still be attacked by her?"

Anton smiled bitterly.

"I'm afraid so, but it shouldn't be as many. It was the best I could do. I didn't want to piss her off."

Jeff's face, and quite a few others, said that they did not believe him.

"Nithroel knows that we could not survive a major attack-"

"That was not a major attack?" Jeff was exasperated.

Everyone else sharred his shocked expression. Anton nodded bitterly in agreement.

"I'm guessing that there are other beastial servants of Nithroel, much more powerful ones that could break the walls down in a few heartbeats. We were lucky that she did not send those in time. Or many more of the Kobolds that she has under her control."

They all looked quite frightened now.

"Nithroel knew that she had us in a position where we were about to get beaten. The fact that she conceded anything at all is nothing short of a miracle."

"So there's more things she wanted from us?" Bertram asked, looking as disturbed as his son.

"Yes-"

Loud groans emanated from all around him.

"But nowhere near as bad."

"Alright, let's hear them." Bertram said, the tiredness clear in his voice.

Anton did not know how old Bertram was, but he guessed he was in his late sixties or early seventies. He, and Sybil, had been living in fear for the past two weeks. They would not be able to bounce back as quickly as the rest.

"We now have a territory limit." Anton explained.

That raised a few confused looks.

"We have free range over all of the old Kar Kingdom territory, up until fifty miles past the old capital, Surdon. Then that forms a straight line to the sea. Everything north of that line is ours. Everything south is a no go area."

"Why does she want that?" Jeff frowned. "Does she want more space to breed up an army of beasts to attack us?"

"The thought had crossed my mind. Since we don't have a map..."

Bertram shook his head.

"There's really no way to tell." Anton shrugged unhappily. "I was not in a position to clarify why. I do, however, believe that there is something there that she wants or doesn't want us to get. Bertram, was there anything special on that side of the capital?"

Bertram looked up in thought. He slowly shook his head.

"Not that I know of. It was all some time ago. My memory isn't the best."

He's right. I can't just expect them to know everything. The Kar Kingdom fell about forty years ago. It was worth a try though.

"When I head over to Graterious I'll see about getting a map of the Kar Kingdom. See if there's anything of value either side of our new border. Find out why she was so desperate to make such a large buffer...Though it will take some considerable time before we can even take over the old capital and even possibly strike at the land beyond that."

"I take it she's not going to help us with clearing out the goblins either." Jeff said.

"I doubt Surdon is the only place that is infested with those things." Avery rapped his hands on the wooden table.

Verona shook her head while she pursed her lips.

"She made it quite clear to me that we are to fend for ourselves against everything that comes at us. Especially the goblins on our side of the barrier. If we take them on too early and get ourselves killed... Well, then it all worked out fine for her."

"Which brings us to the second point. Well third actually, we managed to avoid the second point."

"What was the second?" Bertram asked.

Anton held out his glyphed hand again, pointing to the white hands clasped in prayer.

"This is the mark of Tethra, the goddess of prayer. Every time I have healed someone I have used her power. She was also the same god that brought Kal here."

Kal looked a little embarrassed as she fidgeted and suppressed a smile.

"Nithroel wanted me to swear her off as part of the treaty. I refused from the beginning and never explained why, the reasoning being pretty obvious."

"If it were not for that, my legs would have rotted away." Jonathan said loudly, as if to answer the reasoning.

Anton remembered how they looked when he first arrived. Gangrenous and rotting. If he did not have that power he would have, at the very least, lost his legs. Quite possibly his life.

"Exactly." Anton continued. "Which is why I refused and Nithroel did not push it any further."

"Why would such a powerful god back down?" Kal asked, a sentiment shared by everyone else.

Anton did not have a proper answer. Nithroel could have used that as an excuse to void the newly formed treaty but did not. The more he thought about it the more uncomfortable and nervous he became. The more he felt like he knew nothing of what was happening beyond his current sphere of influence.

"I am not entirely sure. It has something to do with why she wants the southern half of the old kingdom I'm pretty sure. Perhaps not. But for now we need to just count our blessings that we are no longer at war."

That sentence threw up a lot of confused looks. They must have not heard such an expression before. He was about to explain when he remembered that three of the people in the room did not know that he was from another, entirely different, world. Instead he held his tongue. He did not miss the look that Kal gave him. He was sure that she was suspecting more and more that he had memories from before arriving at Atros. Unintentional slips, like that one he had just made, increased her scepticism. However, she seemed content with staying quiet for now. Dana and Raston made no such cues.

"So, anyway," Anton continued, "The third thing was a little odd. We must help the Wood Elves however we can."

"You said we cannot go that far south." Zac grumbled.

Anton nodded.

"Indeed. I clarified that part with her and that seemed to be acceptable."

"But," Verona began, "Anton made sure that it did not mean that we were going to be subservient, like we would be some sort of slave to them."

Kal's chair creaked as she moved forward to look at Verona. Verona caught her eye and flushed slightly from embarrassment.

"Sorry Kal, kind of the wrong word there."

Anton glanced at Kal. She did not seem angry, perhaps a little confused as to why Verona would use that word.

"But the meaning is still the same. When Anton asked if that meant we would do everything the Wood Elven told us to do."

Verona chuckled.

"You should have seen her face when she realised that we had guessed what she really wanted. We made it so our relation was one that is basically for defence."

"That sounds alright." Jeff said.

"So long as it means that we are safe from attacks from the beasts, I am fine with that." Bertram said, shaking his head. "I do not want to go through that again."

There were many murmurs of agreement and nods of heads. They seemed most pleased by hearing they would no longer be attacked. Verona tugged on his hand. He leant down so she could whisper in his ear.

"There was that stuff with the other... People that are like you." She spoke in the softest voice she could.

"Can't really talk about that now." Anton tried his best to convey his thoughts, which did seem to reach Verona.

"But also why they are here. Nithroel said they, and her elves, are fighting the Demons. Which means they have already arrived." she whispered back to him.

Anton nodded and tapped loudly on the table, bringing the attention back onto him.

"There is another, very important, piece of information that we gleamed from our talk with Nithroel."

The frowns and looks of worry returned.

"The Demons, the ones I saw in the dream the night after the Yellow Goblins were wiped out, have arrived."

"Already?" Jeff and Bertram said in unison.

"I am afraid so."

The older council members looked at Verona. In the first gods dream she had not been there, so there was only his word to go on. Now she had gone with him. She nodded, nobody liked to see that.

"Which means that, once again, we need to work even faster." Anton continued. "I don't know if we can beat them but we will give it all we've got. There is some good news in there though."

"What could that possibly be?" Bertram asked.

"They are nowhere near us."

That brought them some relief.

"She mentioned something about us having quite a few humans between us and the Demons, one of the reasons she was so dismissive of us. And I don't think that means there is just Qaiviel in the way. The way she said it, it sounded like there were quite a few in the way. It's a little grim to say it, but they would have to go through much more powerful kingdoms and Empires before they could get to us."

"That is good news, for us." Jeff said. "I guess. Though, it's a little bad for those in the way."

"After we are done here, Jonathan, I would like to see how the project is going. We have some powder so it is the perfect time to start experimenting."

Jonathan gave a quick nod. Anton was very curious to see how they would actually work.

"So, that's my pieces done. So, whomever wishes to go next..."

Jeff was the first to speak.

"Since Verona brought up the Marshall and potential order problems, I suppose I should say that there has not been any problems with the new... Former bondsmen. So far. None have said anything about Kal being present, at least out loud."

"Good to know that they are all settling in." Verona said. "And that they have not taken offence to a beast-kin living here."

Jeff nodded. It was a concern that Anton held. It had barely been a day so far. Things could change very quickly if they decided to take action against her. He just hopped it would not come to that.

"What about the more... Special ones?" Raston asked, Dana nodded as well.

"The stonemasons are doing very well." Zac answered. "They were not at the quarry for long and they have already made things quite a bit better for us. They said we did a decent job on the walls, but now they are going to make sure the stones fit better. It's going to make the wall, and anything else made from stone, slower to build but be a lot stronger."

"What about the books I got you?" Anton asked. "Have they been of some help?"

Zac slid down on his chair as he looked a little embarrassed.

"I... I can't read that well, lad. Before... This, I really didn't need to know how. Some of the younger stonemasons, I think they are the apprentices, helped me with some of the more difficult words. It has quite a bit of words on how to build tall buildings."

"Quite a few of the buildings on the inner side of Maxill are quite tall, compared to here. And the Duchess's mansion is even bigger, even though most of it looks like it was made from stone."

"The stonemasons are doing very well, and so are the miners to the north." Zac continued. "They've been a big help to us."

Anton raised his hands to stop him.

"Before we go any further, I would like to borrow one of your stonemasons later. I want them to make something special for me."

"Okay..."

Verona shuffled in her seat. She knew that he was talking about building the shrines.

I'll wait until they are done before explaining what they are for. It might be a little hard for people to actually pray at them... I don't know how I could convince them to take a few minutes out of their day to actually pray at the shrines. I can't exactly say that they will get rewarded... I'll have to think it out fully before announcing it.

"And the smiths? And their apprentices?" Raston asked Zac.

Zac turned to Jonathan, who smiled.

"They are working very hard in my new smithy and forge. For now I am having them make swords, armour and shields. I'm not letting them anywhere near your project."

Anton gave a respectful nod.

"Oh, you will be glad to know that both my children have agreed to become apprentice smiths themselves."

"So you did ask?" Anton asked.

He was quite interested to know if it had actually worked out. There was a genuine and warm smile on his face.

"The other smiths think it is very funny, the way that they run around all happily, so much smaller than anyone else. But they do give them respect for trying to become a smith. They are learning very quickly, even if they will not be large enough to swing a hammer properly for quite a few winters."

Verona tugged at his hand again.

"I don't think that Joclyn likes me very much."

"Why do you say that?"

"When I was going to get my armour improved, I had to take it off, and she saw my chest..."

She looked down. The enormity of her breasts were hidden somewhat by her leather armour.

"Yeah, I can guess why she was a little annoyed at seeing them right infront of her. She isn't that young... How old are they?"

"I'm not exactly sure. But I don't know how long it will be before they go through their second growth."

Second growth? Oh, puberty, right.

Anton smiled and squeezed her hand.

"It would have been nice to get some people that could make bows or arrows properly." Avery said. "Or just to properly make more crossbows. I'm sure that Jonathan easily has the skill to make the metal pieces."

Jonathan gave another nod.

"When we returned to Maxill it was going through a quite dramatic change." Anton began. "It seemed Duchess Belinda had listened to what I had to say... At least the message of what I saying. Happy workers are busy workers, so if she wanted them to work without having to resort to whips..."

Raston remained quiet, though perhaps understanding.

"She would have to invest in her territory and not just drain it dry. Part of that was setting up full and proper industries to make things to sell. The main exports of Maxill were meats, furs, and wood."

Avery seemed like he understood right away.

"After all that time of mismanagement there really wasn't much left so it had to built from scratch. Good woodworkers were in short supply, so they simply were not even for sale."

"I understand. I was just voicing my opinion."

He almost seemed defensive in his tone. That was not something that Anton wanted to continue.

"I was told that, the next time that we go to Maxill, that some will be made available. It might be only one or two but they will be able to train others in their art."

Avery nodded. He seemed to be satisfied. Anton looked around the now quiet table.

"I take it the 'general' bondsmen are working well."

He received nods from all around.

"They are," Sybil began, "We have agreed to send them where they are needed most and they are doing very well no matter what they are doing."

"That's very good to hear."

"We will soon have a major increase in food and material production." Bertram said. "But, please don't bring so many next time, it's still a bit of a struggle to keep a handle on so many. Our resources are stretched to the limit already."

Anton nodded.

"I'm thinking that we will get a smaller trickle of people over time from Maxill and Qaiviel. At such a rate that we can deal with the increase in demand without killing ourselves or the land in the process."

A look of relief come over Bertram's face. Anton realised that he had been putting almost all the administrative duties on him and his wife. They could definitely use some help.

"If, at any time, you need some people to help with your workload, do not hesitate to ask." Anton said. "We would rather not have you both run into the ground to try and keep up with demands."

Bertram smiled but said nothing. He was certainly old enough to make that decision for himself.

"I suppose you would like to know of anything special that happened at Maxill and the way there?"

The half hint that Anton left got their attention. They all looked at him with curious eyes.

"On the way there at the lake... You remember the lake?" He asked Verona.

She gave a cute little nod.

"Well, for those of you that don't know, there is a large fresh water lake on the way to Maxill through the forest. We got water and some rest there the first time. This time we ran into some Orcs."

The room was silent. It took a few moments for their brains to realise and understand what he had just said.

"Orcs?" Jeff asked, breaking the silence. "Like the ones that attacked the Yellow Goblins at the end? And then we..."

Anton waved his hand.

"Not exactly. We would have run into them if Kal hadn't been able to smell them first, and we may have even gotten into a fight if she had not told us the difference between the two. The ones we found were called Thralls. They are Orcs...but they are missing..."

He glanced at Kal, who had told them of the difference.

"Penis's. It turns out that all the first born Orcs are like that. Neither male not female. Not really anything, and are treated like such. Anyway, we ran into them heading south. There had just been a conclusion to a civil war and they were the losers. They were heading south to somewhere called the "Red Spines". Anyone heard of that before?"

There was nothing from them.

"Which may be bad news for us. Because in order for them to win they had to ally with another group called the Deweth clans."

Bertram and Sybil shuffled at their mention.

"You know of them?" Anton asked.

Bertram nodded.

"When I began my career as an financial administrator in the old Kar Kingdom we would always hear stories of great battles fought to the north in the snowy mountains. And always having to deal with the expense of such campaigns. In the end we just ended up paying the clans not to fight us. It was cheaper in the long run."

"Young nobles would always go off to fight for glory." Sybil began. "Much to the horror of their wives and families. I had to help the women deal with the consequences, like having to give birth alone, or to someone that they found comfort with while their husbands were away."

He understood what that meant.

I bet you would have had knowledge of quite a few acts of infidelity.

"The stories of those that did come back were of savage and powerful warriors," Sybil continued, "Giant, burly men and women that would crash though a line of soldiers. Each one could take on four men with ease."

Everyone looked very worried. They had problems with the Yellow Goblins and Kobolds, though they did vastly outnumber the villagers even though they were significantly weaker. The possibility of fighting thousands of very strong humans, that each had the strength of a rampaging barbarian, was not a pleasant one.

"So, these clansmen and the Orc tribes have banded together-"

"Not to come here?" Jonathan asked, his voice quivering from panic and concern. Probably for his children.

"I honestly don't think so." Anton replied, doing his best to calm Jonathan and the others. "According to our new friends in Maxill, they try regularly to attack the Qaiviel kingdom through a large set of forts. But they're late. My idea was that the Deweth clan and Orc tribe armies will attack from the east of Qaiviel rather than through the northern passes.... It would be easier if we had a map I could show you, the Duchess had one in Maxill..."

"Hang on." Sybil said as she pushed out her chair. “This would be easier if we could all see it.”

She left and returned a minute later with a rough piece of blank paper along with a wrapped piece of charcoal.

"Thank you." He said as she handed it to him.

He placed it down and began to draw a rough map of what Duchess Belinda and Alfred had shown him.

"This southern area of the Deweth clans, which is just beyond the mountain to our north, used to be controlled by hostile Orcs. Now the Orcs are no longer hostile. So my worry is that they will head along the mountain edge and head straight for Maxill."

"Why?" Jeff asked.

"Because Qaiviel won't be expecting it. Maxill, up until very recently, would have fallen under a day. It might still. They could then use that as a base while they ravaged the relatively unprotected heartland of the kingdom."

"So why does it concern us?" Avery asked. "Unless you're saying that they would see us on the journey and attack us."

"Again, not exactly. If Maxill falls, so to does a potentially valuable ally... And a source of people and money that we so desperately need. Also, the bondsmen live that live here would not like to know that we could have done something and didn't."

"I wouldn't either." Raston spoke with his arms crossed. "A lot of the new bondsmen still have many friends and relatives there. It would be hard to keep order here if they were to be found dead."

"So you want us to send our soldiers to Maxill's and Qaiviel's aid should they be attacked?" Jeff asked, he seemed less than thrilled to be sending Atros villagers to fight and die in somebody else’s war.

"Not an army." Verona spoke up, "If someone were to be captured they would let them know where we are and then we would be finished. It would be better if it were two people. Two people that could defeat a small army on their own."

Everyone looked a little concerned that their two most powerful people could be leaving.

"I'm also telling you this so you know that we might be leaving in a hurry. Which also means that I don't want you to try and antagonise the beasts and monsters roaming about."

"What if that goddess, Nithroel, just decides to attack again when you are both away?" Jeff asked.

"If she really wanted to she would not have made the treaty with my gods and just flattened us. And there would be nothing that either of us could do to stop it."

Everyone looked quite glum, knowing that there was great uncertainty hanging over their future.

"Which is why we need to be ready to help Maxill." Anton began. "I got the feeling that Nithroel is not going to hold to her promise, or treaty or whatever, for very long. She really seems to hate my gods to an extreme level. By helping Maxill we can help ourselves get so much stronger. And next time something like the Kobolds attack we can send them squealing away in fear."

Jeff nodded.

"Alright." He motioned for the map to be passed to him. "We could get a few lookouts here, on Mount Aspire. That will give us over all that grassland and the mountain ranges to the north. If they go anywhere near that we'll be able to see them. It's the best we can do with what we have."

Anton nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea. Just make sure that those sentry posts keep themselves hidden. We definitely do not want an Orc and Clansmen army descending from the north after having spotted our scouts."

Jeff nodded again.

"I'll see about sending a few builders and some wood, for shelter for the lookouts. Nothing too much so they don't stand out against the mountain." Zac added.

"Thank you both." Anton said. "Potential disasters aside, we are looking at having our first trading partner. Now it's just a case of having something good to sell... Do we have anything in abundance that can be transported easily?"

There was no answer.

"How about when we meet up again for lunch we share anything we have thought of?" Verona suggested.

There were murmurs and nods of approval. She lent up to his ear.

"Sorry, but it looks like they are getting a bit tired. Mentally at least."

"And you're not?"

Verona smiled wickedly.

"I know what to expect from you."

She smiled as she took her normal position. Nobody else seemed to want to say anything.

"Very good then. Is there anything else that needs to be addressed?" Anton asked.

There seemed to be nothing. Bertram clapped his hands.

"I think that is the end then. We have quite a bit to do and think about from this meeting, but nothing that cannot be done."

There was some murmur of agreement as everyone stood up.

"Jonathan," Anton began, "Can I swing by your new smithy and see how the 'project' is going? We have the powder so..."

"Sure."

"I'm going to go with Sybil." Verona said as she pulled down on his sleeve.

He turned down and threw up a questioning brow.

"You won't need me for the project thing that you are doing. Though, I do want to see it in action. So I was going to go with Sybil and find out if the person we have in mind wants the Marshall position. It'll be good to have me there so they understand who they are dealing with. That needs to be dealt with right away."

"Okay." Anton gave her a quick kiss, which was returned. "I'll catch up with you as soon as I can."

"Righto!"

The council members started to rise and make for the door.

"Anton?"

He turned around and saw Kal looking rather nervous.

"I know that I said I wanted to contribute, but right now-"

"Come with me then." Verona said happily, cutting her off.

Kal looked very confused.

"Me?"

"Yeah. You can come along. It will also give us the chance to see if they have anything against protecting a beast-kin."

Verona reached out and grabbed the edge of Kal's cloak. She began to pull her towards the door. Kal resisted slightly but Verona seemed very insistent. She gave a light shrug, almost as if she knew this was happening one way or another, and hesitantly allowed herself to be dragged off.

"I'll see you at lunch no matter what!" Verona shouted out as she led Kal out the door.

Both girls gave him a wave, and then they were gone. Sybil followed them as fast as she could.

"Will she be okay with Verona?" Jeff asked, stopping next to Anton.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Anton answered. "Kal is a very strong girl. I didn't tell you before but she got her foot impaled by a wolf's tooth and didn't say a word. She's probably one of the toughest girls in the world. Not to mention what else she has been through."

Jeff raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"That is tough."

"It's also nice to see Verona having another friend. I think with her power and marks it might be a little difficult for her to have many. Kal's probably the third woman she could call as a friend, and the first that's roughly her own age."

Jeff hummed in agreement.

"Yeah. If you didn't know her well she can be scary." He turned so he could whisper in Anton's ear. "You didn't hear the way she laughed when she used her magic on the first day of the Kobold attacks. It was..."

Anton shrugged.

"It doesn't matter to me. We are going to work it out together."

"Shouldn't you be doing that now?"

"Possibly. But I am liking the independent Verona quite a lot. We'll do it once we've got our respective things sorted. So long as she doesn't use her power, she's fine and I trust her judgement."

"Right." Jeff said with a nod. "Is it alright if I come along? Jonathan here won't explain what you've got him to build and neither will Zac. They both say it's something secret and they're sure that you don't just want anyone looking at it."

He nodded to Jonathan, still waiting patiently a few paces behind.

"I thought you would have said that Anton."

Anton nodded.

"It's good to keep secrecy, especially as I have many more things for you to build for me."

Jonathan looked quite distraught. He had to interoperate his vague designs and try and make it work with no fundamental knowledge, or even rudimentary knowledge, of how it was supposed to actually work. It was no wonder that he was not thrilled that there would be more things for him to decipher.

"Are they going to be as dangerous and deadly as I think this first thing of yours could be?" Jonathan asked.

Anton nodded again.

"Far more so. But first, we need to make this first one work." He turned to Jeff. "To answer your original question, yes you can come along. This is going, hopefully, to be used by your soldiers, so you'll definitely need to know what this thing actually is."

Jeff looked quite excited, almost like a child that had just been handed some candy. It was something Anton was not expecting to see from him.

"So how dangerous is it really?"

Anton started to walk to the door.

"If it works right, and we use it right, it'll start to change the world forever."

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Hello.

This chapter is more of a recap-ish chapter. I could have just said Anton told them but I wanted to try and keep fleshing out the other characters a bit. Perhaps more of my attempt to show how the other people think about Anton's thoughts and adding their own to the information about the treaty with Nithroel. Unfortunately most of the information would be at least 40 or so years old and the few people who would know the truth have had far more important things to worry about.

Setting up the other people for the council is simple enough.

A bit more information on how Seocuria treats the beast-kin in general and what they are capable of. Also what sort of other Beast-kin would have suffered over their lives.

Also setting up who the main 'villan' for this arc will be.

The next two chapters are basically done, so those should not be too far away.

Chapter 42 will see the first attempt at a cannon, so look forward to that.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any and all donations!