...Roble Holy Kingdom...The South...

The carts rolled forward behind the trio, Tinamoc couldn't help but contemplate just how impactful this journey had been, not just for himself, but also for his country. Writing letters to his wife had gone from a half page to a page of sentiment and description, to every letter beginning with the phrase, "You won't believe what happened today".

Now as he rode between Neia & CZ, he felt safer than he had in years, and despite their seriousness in their tasks, he actually got the feeling that they were glad to be riding together, it made him a little more curious about the maid demon, and it emboldened him to ask CZ about herself.

"So you are bound to the service of the Sorcerer King now?" He asked after hearing how the Sorcerer King had ripped the mystic bonds that had bound her soul to Jaldabaoth's service during their battle.

"Sort of." CZ replied ambiguously.

"How is that? What does 'sort of' mean?" He asked.

"It is true that I am bound by magic to his service, but I am also bound by choice." CZ replied.

"By choice?" Tinamoc said, teasing more information out of her.

"Yes, even if my bonds were broken, I would not choose to leave his service. My loyalty to him is not compulsory, even without my bonds, even if he offered to remove them, I would not leave him." CZ said, looking straight ahead.

Tinamoc raised an eyebrow, "Forgive me for my ignorance, but it is a common belief among humans that demons only give their loyalty to those stronger than themselves, and that only as long as that strength is supreme. Is this not the case for maid demons?" He asked.

CZ rode in silence for a moment, and in that moment Tinamoc was afraid he had offended her, but then she answered, "This belief is not wholly wrong, but nor is it the whole truth either. Think of humans, how many people would unseat the King if they could? They are loyal only because they cannot win, right?" She said.

Tinamoc and Neia were forced to agree. "Yes..." They said.

"So it is also with many demons. However, suppose the Sorcerer King were somehow weakened, that you could end his unlife and take his throne for yourself, would you do that, Neia?" CZ asked.

"Never!" Neia answered with a voice of certainty that could have cut stone with its confidence.

"So some humans are truly loyal, not because of strength, but because of some quality that makes the one they follow 'different', be it a debt, or a character quality, or something else, right?" CZ asked.

"Yes." Neia replied.

"So it also is with some demons, the Sorcerer King merits my obedience whether he compels it or not, I have no doubt that the others agree with me, but how common we are I cannot guess." CZ concluded.

"Remarkable." Tinamoc said with awe. "I never thought of demons as being... well... a lot like people." He said.

CZ actually gave him a little hint of a smile, "It probably makes it a lot easier to justify killing us, doesn't it?"

Tinamoc was silent for a long time after that, not really seeing the road, the trees, or anything else. Neia looked at him out of the corner of her eye, he was clearly shaken by what CZ had said, and before witnessing His Majesty and the way many species worked together for the common good the way they did in E-Rantel, it would have shaken her as well. Now, she wondered why it wasn't obvious to her the whole time.

Neia left him alone with his thoughts, and silence reigned over the trio, while behind them merchants and laborers from one cart to the next talked or played games with dice, but Neia found the silence the three of them had reached to be no less comfortable. They reached a few branching roads along the way, but passed them all, remaining on the main road, and occasionally passing by a single cart or horse and rider, or saw a person walking one of the side paths, it was almost eerie how busy the road was when compared to the North, she wondered how many people had escaped to the relative safety of the South from the Northern Holy Kingdom, and decided never to return to their former homes, with no census taken since the end of the war, it was impossible to know the full toll on the Holy Kingdom's population... which as she thought about it, may have been the point. If the South knew just how decimated the North had become by way of an official census, they might just decide to put their own candidate forth and demand the throne be yielded to one of their own.

As she thought these things, Neia remembered a man from one of Lord Ainz's books in the library of Ashurbanipal*, the man had said, "A house divided against itself, cannot stand." She shook her head rapidly, as if to discard the unpleasant thought, despite having defeated the force that threatened their ruin, they were more divided than ever.

Her thoughts were interrupted when they crested a hill and she saw a city spread out before her. It was somewhat larger than Prart, with high walls and a series of entry and exit gates that were obviously needed for the central ingress and egress, the city itself had a water supply nearby in the form of a river that seemed to bisect it on its way to the sea, it was a substantial place to say the least. "Impressed?" Tinamoc asked as they paused briefly on the rise?

"No. Not really." Neia said.

"No? Why not?" Tinamoc asked.

"Simple." Neia said plainly, "I've been to Nazarick." Unknowingly coining another phrase that would be used down through the many ages to come, as the phrase "I've been to Nazarick" became synonymous with having seen the very finest of the fine, and used by all who expressed that they were not impressed by something, even if they'd never visited the actual Nazarick. She spurred her horse lightly forward again, and the trio resumed their trek down the hill and onward to the city gate.

The check in was easier than it was with Prart, the letter gained them immediate admission, and no guard asked for a bribe or threatened dire consequences for failing to offer a 'tip'. It was a good start. Neia followed Tinamoc's lead as he took her to the warehouse district, and as his baggage handlers began to handle the task of unloading he said, "Thank you for your service Neia, CZ, but we won't be needing any guards tonight, the whole force can get the night off. You can all collect a stipend for your time, and then you can go see the sights, and just meet us at the Silver Pavilion, the rest of the company has rooms reserved in the hotel usually used by the Southern Adventurer's guild... pulled a few strings for that one, but there's also a bar there with its own arena... well... small training grounds anyway, I think they'll enjoy showing off their skills."

Neia grinned, "Thanks, Tinamoc. We'll take you up on that." She said and looked to CZ, "I have to brief my people, but after that, why don't you, Skana, and I go out for the evening. I saw something when I was in Nazarick, some moving stories, and the women in some of them had something called a 'Girl's Night'. Seems like it'd be fun."

"Yes, let’s do that." CZ said in her neutral but pleased voice.

The briefing Neia gave was quick and to the point. They had the night off, they could draw some spending money from the pay master, and they were told where to stay, however Neia added an extra level of caution... "You represent the Sorcerer King, you represent Black Justice. Do not abuse the weak, only protect the weak. Do not treat the trust we've given you as license to behave badly, you will not be bought out of prison, and you will be held accountable for your actions, even if I have to go to the Sorcerer King and suffer punishment myself for your choices, so make them good ones, make me proud, make us all proud." She said, and there were copious shouts of enthusiasm.

Passers by gave the uniformed band of Black Justice members curious or wary looks, which Neia couldn't help think was quite reasonable, unfamiliar bands of heavily armed and armored uniformed fighters was cause for concern to any reasonable party. Neia however, couldn't find it in herself to worry that much as she looked confidently over the laughing and smiling group of elites. They'd crushed a scripture of the Slane Theocracy, ordinary city thugs were not going to be a problem.

Skana approached after the briefing and asked, "What's the plan?"

"The plan is for you to come with me." Neia said with a smile and took Skana's hand, she went to the front of the wagon train where CZ was waiting, "We're all going out, first we draw pay, then we have a great day."

It didn't take long to draw funds, but as she did so Neia asked CZ, "Do you need me to cover you for the night?"

CZ's neutral face didn't waver, she just reached to the pouch at her side and opened it up, and inside Neia saw glittering platinum and gold coins embossed with the face of the Sorcerer King. She was literally carrying around a King's ransom as spending money. Skana & Neia's jaws dropped.

"The Sorcerer King gave you... that... as spending money?" Skana asked incredulously.

"Yes." CZ said in the neutral voice that only Neia could read well. "He said to have fun with my friend when I could. Will this be enough?" She asked in seriousness.

Neia nodded numbly, "Plenty."

"Good." CZ said in a voice that Neia read as being 'satisfied'.

"Well, it makes sense..." Skana said, "Maid demons don't really havegot to go shopping or have drinking nights or anything much, do they?"

"No, those are things I have never done." CZ said, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Skana grinned, "Oh then this will be a treat, I've always been privately curious how much a demon could drink."

Neia couldn't help but laugh at that, and the three wandered out on the town in search of mischief. It wasn't hard to find a tavern in any city of any country anywhere in the world, just follow the sound of singing, cheering, and laughing, and stop when you're in front of a door with the most of it. Neia looked up at the sign over the door, "The Bumbling Pony" she read, and the sign featured a horse fallen forward with its hind legs in the air. "OK then, I'm guessing they have beer." Skana said, and after taking Neia's hand, she opened the door and the three of them walked in. It wasn't a rough looking place, in fact it was fairly clean as far as any establishment with hundreds of people coming and going over many hours, ever could be.

"Do you girls want a spot at the bar, or a table?" Neia said loudly enough to hear or be heard.

"Table." They said in unison, and Neia lead the way, weaving through the crowd like she was avoiding swords on the battlefield, and she wound her way to a table near the corner.

It was made of somewhat smooth wood, clearly it had been worked for some time, it wasn't the rough wood that cheaper establishments catering to the poor used, but it was also not the refined onyx material used by the Sorcerer King. Neia supposed it represented reasonably good local workmanship made from local forests, she looked around at the patrons and noticed the way they were dressed. There were men in armor, their uniformity meant they were most likely city guards and just getting off their shift, there were slightly better dressed figures who appeared rather young, probably the sons and daughters of local merchants of modest but not unsuccessful means. She did not spot much in the way of dirtied hands or clothes, the labor class of the population other than the armed set of them did not come here, that meant the risk of violence was rather low since such an establishment would have its own security and the guards drinking there would be expected to restore order of their own accord. She filed those observations away for later, just as a buxom young redhead in a low cut dress came to the table.

"What'll it be, love?" She said with a warm smile.

"Do you have any 'One Legged Dwarf'? Neia asked.

"Aye of course, will that be for all three of you?" The server asked.

Neia looked at her companions, who gave her nods of approval.

"Yes, that'll be three One Legged Dwarfs." she said.

"Skana, hows your alcohol tolerance?" Neia asked.

"Greater than my tolerance for arrows in the eye." Skana said with black humor, prompting Neia to cough a great deal before she could muster out the laughs she felt rising up.

No sooner than she'd gained control of herself again than the server had returned with a tray holding three very large wooden mugs which she placed in front of the trio.

"That'll be twenty four coppers each." The server said.

CZ took out a coin of the Sorcerous Kingdom, it was silver embossed and of phenomenal workmanship, the edges were milled with many small ridges, and the face on the coin might as well have been hand carved, the server looked at it in confusion and turned it around and saw it contained a miniature map of the borders, and a stamped year of manufacture.

"What is... this?" The server asked.

"It is from the Sorcerous Kingdom." CZ replied flatly.

"Oh... Just a moment while I um... get your change." The server said, and scurried away as if being pursued by rodents.

"That was... odd." Skana said.

"Is it not customary to provide smaller denominations to people who pay more than they are required to in order to make up the difference in cost?" CZ asked with a hint of curiosity.

Skana looked at her as if she'd grown a second head, which for all anyone knew, she could do, but Neia recognized the issue and chimed in, "She's never done shopping before, so she really has no idea how it works."

"Oh, so... wow, I mean I know you said that, but I guess it hasn't sunk in, but anyway no, that isn't what I meant, I mean her reaction to the coin you gave her. I wonder if she's never seen one before?" Skana said dubiously.

Neia shrugged it off, "Doesn't matter, she's got the coin, we've got the beer, so let me make a toast to life, to friendship, and to seeing both for many tomorrows to come!" She raised up her mug towards the center of the table.

"To all good things and all good times!" Skana added, and brought her mug up in turn and pressed it to Neia's at the center.

CZ seemed uncertain for a moment, but there was one thing she knew to praise in every way that praise could be offered, so she brought her mug up to the other side of Neia's and said, "To the Sorcerer King."

And the three brought their mugs to their mouths each in turn and began to drink the thick frothy mug of dwarven brewed hops. They tilted their heads back and did not stop drinking until the mugs were empty and they brought them back down to the table with a satisfied and collective 'Ahhhhhh.' "The next round of that, we have to drink to the dwarves." Skana said.

Neia giggled, "I think they deserve it, that may be expensive here, but not for nothing are they known for beer as much as their gear. Yes, next round we toast to the dwarves."

Then they noticed CZ, who said nothing.

Instead there was a silly grin on her face and her cheeks were... very flushed.

"CZ, you OK?" Neia said, leaning in a little bit.

CZ hiccuped in response.

"Shine, I'm yust shine." CZ slurred out.

"Maid demons may be renowned for their combat strength... but... I think that if it came to a battle of beer drinking, they fall far short." Skana said with a jovial laugh.

Neia raised her hand to draw attention to her table, and it was then that she noticed their server was bent over the bar in deep conversation with the bartender, and was pointing at their table and at the coin she'd been given, which sat at the bar in front of the man behind it. Her fearsome eyes narrowed, and with good reason, the bartender came out from behind the bar carrying a truncheon at his side and approached the three women at their table.

He flipped the coin onto the table. "Got anything else? This money is no good here."

"What? Why?" Skana asked.

"We're not worshipers of undead monsters, that's fucking why!" He snarled out loudly enough that nearby conversations stopped cold and stared at the exchange.

His snarl however, became a whimper when CZ unleashed her killing intent.

"You will take the Sorcerer King's coin." CZ said flatly. "You will be grateful for it. You will not cast his image aside so casually. You will treat it with respect. Is that clear?"

For a moment, Neia thought the man was going to die of a heart attack, then as sweat began to pour down his body in rivers, she wondered if he'd die of dehydration first.

Neia quickly reached over and touched CZ's arm, "CZ, it’s OK, he's just ignorant, he doesn't know any better."

CZ seemed to respond to Neia's action, and she began to suppress her killing intent and looked at the man with eyes of steel. "Do you understand me?" She asked again.

He swallowed and nodded, and reclaimed the coin and backed away as quickly as he could.

The stares they received had not gone away, but they had gotten less menacing.

"Get us our change, we're getting out of here." Skana said sharply to the server, a few moments later she dropped the difference on the table, and CZ scooped it back into her pouch and the three got up and left, they were given a wide berth as they did so, and felt the stares at their backs.

"Somewhere else?" Neia said.

"Definitely." Skana agreed.

CZ hiccuped again and the blush of red had returned to her face.

They walked down the street for only a few minutes before they found another tavern, this one less busy but with what appeared to be better made materials for furniture, and when they sat at a table and ordered more of the same brew they'd previously had, it was served in large glass mugs.

"To the dwarves." Neia said.

"To the dwarves." Skana said.

"And ta the Sorsherer King." CZ slurred out, and they brought their mugs together and drank again, swallowing rapidly as if worried it would disappear if they did not drink fast enough, and they slapped the mugs sharply to the table.

This time Neia reached into her purse, and pulled out a coin of the Holy Kingdom, and the serving woman, a slender young blonde girl, took it and returned promptly with the change with no incident. This allowed them to order another two rounds, but after the second round, CZ only sat there with a goofy and unusual smile on her face without drinking, before she slumped over face first into the table and cracked it.

"Maid demons... they really cannot hold their liquor, can they?" Skana asked, a warm glow on her own cheeks as she finished off the third mug.

Neia laughed, "Guess not, you know if we'd known about this weakness, we could have defeated Jaldabaoth with a drinking contest."

The responding laughter from Skana was interrupted by a man in armor, he wasn't overly large, nor was he overly menacing, and compared to the equipment of the three women, he wasn't even well armed, but his voice was not without its power or conviction, and it got their attention, "I couldn't help overhearing, and I'll thank you not to make jokes like that."

"Like what?" Neia asked. "That over there," she pointed to the now snoring CZ Delta, "really IS one of the maid demons, she's CZ, the first one set free by the Sorcerer King."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Sure she is, and I'm Neia Baraja, the Sorcerer King's personal squire."

"No, you're not." Skana said sardonically and with a very wide grin while she pointed at Neia, "Because SHE is Neia Baraja."

The sarcastic man looked confused for a moment, unsure if they were just carrying their joke farther for shock value.

"See for yourself." Neia said and stood up, "I am Neia Baraja, squire of the Sorcerer King, founder of Black Justice, bearer of the armor of the Grand King Busar and of the Ultimate Shooting Star, bane of scriptures, builder and taker of cities, and servant of the one true god in this world, the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown." As she stood, she'd thrown open her cloak and exposed the deep green enchanted armor that made her stand out prominently, and she removed her visor and looked him in the eye.

"Holy shit." He said after a long moment, "You really are her... and that... unconscious girl... she's a demon maid?" He asked in utter disbelief.

"Yes and yes, and... yes it turns out demons don't handle alcohol very well." Neia said somewhat sardonically. "Who would have guessed."

"Wait... so you're drinking with a demon... and you're OK with that...?" He asked as if he couldn't believe it.

"Sure. We fought together, we risked our lives together, we serve the same cause together, she's protected me in fights where other humans have tried to end my life, why wouldn't I trust her after all that?"

"Haven't you ever been in battle?" Skana asked as she reached out and took Neia's hand, and gently pulled her back to a seated position at the table, "The bonds forged there are like no others, it’s impossible not to remember shared danger, and because danger, no matter how great, is temporary, it makes shared danger an unbreakable and unique connection." She said eloquently, giving Neia's hand a squeeze that let her know she meant what she said in more ways than one.

The young soldier was closed mouthed for a moment, unsure really of what to say in response, "I... look... I'm sorry if I came across wrong, but this is the South, not the North, things are different here, and I don't know what you're used to, but whatever that is, you probably won't find much here, if she's known to be a maid demon, she's bound to draw some negative responses, and if you're known as Neia Baraja, you'll probably draw some negativity yourself."

Neia blinked in stunned surprise.

"Why is that?" Skana asked sharply.

"Look, I was at the last battle, where Jaldabaoth was defeated, I'll remember it till I die, so... look, I get it. I know we owe our survival to the Sorcerer King, but most of the South was not there, they think the stories are overblown and exaggerated, and there is a lot of hostility to the undead here, and as a result, a lot of hostility towards the entirety of the North now that word has been spreading that undead labor is in widespread use. Just do yourselves a favor and don't stand out too much." He said softly.

"Thanks for the advice." Neia said flatly.

"Yeah." He said in a tone that said he felt she wasn't going to take it, before he moved on.

"I think I've had enough to drink this evening." Neia said.

"Well, we know she has." Skana said, gesturing to the passed out demoness. "Lets go."

Neia nodded quietly and they eased CZ out of her place after placing enough coins on the table to cover their drinks. They each got her under one arm and after briefly getting directions to their hotel, they began to walk the unconscious CZ down the street, finding the hotel was easy enough, large wealthy establishments after all, were intended to stand out, and before long they had three room keys handed to them, barely noticing the fancy decor, they lurched their way up the stairs until they found their floor, and then took CZ to one of the rooms. Gingerly they tucked her into bed, locked the door behind them, and then slid the key under the door for her to find in the morning.

Then, as if for a moment they had forgotten everything and then just remembered, they looked down at their separate keys, and Neia felt the return of her initial shyness, remembering that she did not have to be alone at night, but not sure what to say. She looked down at the key in her hand, then looked at Skana, then looked at the key, then looked at Skana, not sure what she should say.

Skana waited for a moment and then grabbed her belly and started laughing. "I swear," she said, "I may have lost one eye, but I still can see right through you, and I think even if I were blind, I'd still be able to." She reached out and took Neia's hand, and the builder and taker of cities, the bearer of a monster's armor and the personal squire of a living god, was once again the uncertain girl whose dangerous looking eyes and unique talents had kept her alone in life and in work, and unsure as to how to navigate anything but a battlefield or a speech.

Skana squeezed Neia's hand gently, "Look, its OK, if you want to be alone tonight, you can be, if you want to come with me, you can do that instead and I'm happy as long as your choice makes you happy. Now wait a moment." She said, and then she let go, went one door down, and unlocked it with her key, then she approached Neia, took her hand, and gently opened her fingers. She placed the key in Neia's palm, then gently curled the calloused hands of the fearsome archer closed again, Neia watched the entire action as if she were in a dream, and when her fingers were closed on Skana's key, she felt the one good eye of Skana the Bold on her face, and she met that gaze with her fearsome eyes that seemed not so fearsome to the one eyed scout. "You do what you want to do. You can lock the door behind me and slide the key under the door and I'll see you in the morning, or... you can come in after me, and lock it behind yourself." She said with a smile, and then she turned and walked back to her room, and closed the door behind her.

Neia felt her heart pounding in her chest, and then made her choice.