Chapter Eleven

Shira sat watching the man as she always did. The concept of time for divine beings was a hazy thing at best, but the days quickly rolled together on the mortal plane. Drenz Rest Inn was opened as scheduled and quickly became incredibly successful. Once the word got out that a bunch of pretty, newly widowed women would do a customer’s laundry while they sat back and had a beer and a meal, every bachelor in Shren could suddenly be found at one of their tables, a mug of beer in their hand. When the rest of the population found out that two Drenz actually lived in the back, it soon became a city wide attraction, with many travelers stopping by on their way through as well. Jay was certain Nial and Carl had both contributed in their own way with the rather rapid increase in fame. He was lucky to have such good friends.

Kara and Bane had decided to stay for the long haul. When Jay had approached them about returning to the Dark Forest, he was almost positive they were laughing at him for his foolishness in thinking they would go anywhere without him. They would still make occasional trips back to the forest to keep their skills and instincts sharp, but spent the majority of their time in and around Shren. Crime in Shren also suddenly dropped drastically when the word spread that massive, man-eating cats had been seen patrolling back alleyways and dark streets at night, for which Captain Andrews was in turn extremely grateful. He had also not suffered any additional assassination attempts since that first night, never solving the mystery of the mysterious signor, T.

About two months after Dennis began his apprenticeship as a scribe, he passed the official scribe exam and was qualified as fully educated member of the community. Jay also subtly took this exam and acquired his qualifications soon after he began his employment for the governor when he realized scribes operated in an official capacity. Soon after his exam, Dennis set out as a traveling scribe, looking to make his way in the world in order to pay back the debt he felt he owed Jay.

Nial Gemstone’s caravan set out from Shren to continue their merchant’s path a few days after the grand opening of Drenz Rest. They were supposedly heading to the capital, Drenna, in order to sell wares in preparation for some sort of festival, which was to take place in a few weeks’ time.

Katie recovered enough to move to the inn the day before Jay was to begin his work for the governor. Over the next few weeks, she was able to recuperate in leaps in bounds in large part to the pampering bestowed on her by the other women, however, she still refused to speak to anyone but Jay. Kara had taken a liking to the young woman and they were both often found snuggling together. Bane also quickly became known for his love for children, and could often be found watching and protecting the small ones as they played if they were not nestled into his fur, napping.

Once she was healthy, Katie began cleaning laundry, freeing up another woman to help with the waitressing of the constantly busy establishment. Jay had explicitly instructed Heidi to keep the girl away from any other men. She was still emotionally traumatized and couldn’t handle the look or touch of the other gender. This was proven when she had been quickly making her way across the common room one evening and had been groped by a patron who happened to have enjoyed their beer a little too much. It just so happened to be Jay’s day off at the time, and when he heard the scream and saw the girl collapse in a heap of tears, he nearly broke the man in half in anger. After that, word quickly spread that pretty little Katie was off limits.

It turned out Governor Jering was a merciless teacher that took a very hands on approach in his instruction. Every morning, Jay was put to the test. They began each morning with a sparring match, followed by drills and physical exercise until Jay was capable of regularly bringing his teacher to a draw in the current training style. Jay was almost always seen in various shades of purple, black and blue from the rough treatment, however he grew in leaps and bounds, quickly mastering each combat form the governor wished to impart due to the intense nature of the training.

It took six months for Jay to master his court etiquette lessons. His table manners were impeccable, he could now bow, dance, formally address and name every noble in the kingdom, as well as the most notable members of the neighboring kingdoms. When he began attending formal functions he was quickly adopted into the local high society and many families attempted to acquire his favor as the governor’s protégé, causing many of their daughters to seek this newcomer’s attention, to Jay’s rapidly increasing dismay. The age of marriage and consent was also much, much lower in this society than his previous one, causing many awkward encounters as his walls of moral integrity built by years in a different culture were repeatedly assaulted.

After the completion of court etiquette, Jay divided his newfound free time in three ways. It had initially only been two, but one night Katie had caught him as he snuck into the inn late one night. After hounding him repeatedly, Jay had eventually given in and agreed to begin teaching her some of the skills he was learning from the governor. Hopefully, giving her this knowledge would help her repair the broken pieces and instill more confidence in the young woman, or so Jay hoped.

The remaining two portions of his new freedom were divided between additional cataloguing in the library and visiting Talli, where she had begun more formally instructing him in herbs and medicine at his request. It was in part due to Talli’s great skill that Jay had survived the brutal schedule. At the end of every week, Jay visited Talli and she treated his bruised and battered body, helping speed his recovery and assisting his energy levels.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Four years passed quickly in the mortal plane, but it dragged on for Shira in the heavens. Not once had Jay visited her temple in Shren. She was pleased he was growing so well, but her lack of influence over his life had stagnated, only leaving her with a slightly stronger hold over the man than her brother; not nearly enough to break his grasp, much to her great frustration. No matter how much plotting and planning either of them did, Jay’s lack of spare time kept him from any divine influence in this world.

Over the course of these four years, Jay had mastered a number of skills. A variety of unarmed combat techniques, sword forms, both long and short, daggers, staff and bow were all mastered. Ray Jering was an unparalleled martial instructor, well deserving of his former title of King’s Weapon Master. Jay had been dangerous before formal training simply due to his natural physical gifts and animal like instinct, but now he could only be described as a monster. There were very few humans in Drenna with the ability to defeat him in single combat. One was his own teacher, which was becoming increasingly infrequent. Neither could win, but neither could they lose, causing most sparring matches to end only in exhaustion.

This fact had been repeatedly proven time and time again, as Jay had been challenged on numerous occasions to duels by nobles. Some from the capital arrogantly challenged him based on imagined slights of character in hopes to improve their own standing, or, as was more often the case in Shren, for their families, who wished to have the mysterious, handsome and seemingly well-connected man married to their daughters. The idea to snare the potential governor successor was shared by many families, despite the lack of evidence of his supposed succession and unknown background. The mystery surrounding him only fed the rumors. It had quickly become known that he refused to enter any form of relationship, and the men had taken to challenging him on the condition that if he lost, he would marry into their family. This had initially served as an excellent motivator to devote himself to his martial education, as he had narrowly won the first few duels.

Jay was not opposed to a relationship in this world, as he had resolved early on that this was to be his world as well, now that he was here. An adopted member, if you will. He actually often found himself longing for companionship, however, he did not want to be tied to obligations which may hinder his future plans, which included casual sexual relationships. This world had not yet invented a dependable form of birth control, and if he was to suddenly have a child, his plans would be crushed. He still knew so little about this world, despite access to one of the greatest libraries in the country, and fully intended to explore every corner and live the adventure he had always wanted in his old world.

As Jay learned, he passed on many of his less lethal skills to Katie, who had finally opened up after a few months of instruction. Jay’s hopes had borne fruit, and her confidence soared once she had the abilities needed to defend herself. She had begun speaking to others and no longer feared interaction with men, although she still did her best to keep them at a distance, with the exception of Jay.

These past years had treated the girl well and Jay would have been a fool if he had not noticed that Katie had grown into a stunning woman. A woman who clearly held a special place in her heart for him. Avoiding her affection was even more difficult than those of the noble women, having more than once woken to find her curled up next to him in his bed while Kara looked on mischievously. He never could figure out how Kara managed to fit through the door into his room. Both Drenz had grown to the size of small trucks in the past years, matching their mother in size.

Shira had watched all of this with growing concern. Jay was reaching the end of the growth capabilities within Shren. He would soon move on and Shira had to improve her hold over him or she might lose her chance to guide him through the carefully laid plans she had constructed for so long. Vratix had already delayed her significantly, and would continue doing so if she could not wrest full control from her brother. With these thoughts, Shira moved to set her most blatant, direct plan in motion. She had to reach him soon, or potentially lose him forever.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was night, and Jay was cataloguing in the library upper levels when the governor strode in. It had been a long four years, but Jay was finally approaching the end of his contract with Ray. He had, at most, two more weeks before the library was fully documented and organized in the system he had developed. Jay’s twenty-eighth birthday had quietly come and gone a few weeks prior as the year moved into winter.

Jay slid down the ladder where he was perched once he noticed the governor roaming about the lower floor. He quickly and deftly scaled his way down from floor to floor before dropping silently behind the large man. Creeping slowly up as Ray perused a section dedicated to dwarven culture, Jay suddenly shouted, causing the older man to jump in fright to Jay’s great amusement.

“I fucking hate it when you do that.” Ray growled in a low, threatening voice. Jay simply laughed. “I never will understand how you move so bloody silent,” the weapon master groused as he took a half-hearted swing which Jay easily evaded.

“It’s the only victory I can achieve on a regular basis. I have to take the wins where I can.”

“Yeah. Well, soon you won’t be limited to winning only in stealth.” Ray grumped. Jay had nearly surpassed him, a product of his youth and the governor’s own age. It would not be long before the younger man would be unable to progress any further with the old weapon master as his instructor. “Anyway, I have come with an important message. I just received word the royal family will be visiting Shren in a week’s time for their half decade inspection. They have heard much about you back at court from the various noble families and all have expressed a desire to meet you.” The governor cast a grim look at Jay.

“I know your feelings and your plans for the future, therefore, I think it’s prudent to prepare you. The princess is sixteen and unwed. Her father, the king, has been searching for suitable suitors for some time.” Jay’s face mirrored his mentor as the situation sunk in. “Not only that, but the king is quite possibly one of the few men in this country that could best you in combat, despite your competence with the blade. The prince is also a well-accomplished duelist and will no doubt wish to formally challenge you.” Jay just grimaced further. “Do not worry too much, we still have a week to prepare. They will arrive middle of next week and a formal ball will be held at week’s end. Neither should challenge you until after the ball, the king most definitely will not, as he will look to measure your worth before and during the event.” Ray had begun pacing as he continued explaining. Jay stood silently, his face set in a scowl as he thought through his new predicament. If Ray vouched for the king’s combat prowess, it could be assured the man was indeed skilled.

“Bar buddy.” Jay suddenly said, eyes widening. The governor stopped his pacing and looked at Jay with a confused expression. Jay just laid his hand across his face and laughed until he was in tears. How had he not thought of this earlier? “Sorry, Ray. I just remembered something from my past.” Jay chuckled as he wiped his eyes. “Bar buddy is a term from my home where you pretend to be in a relationship with a friend to avoid unwanted attention.”

“Ah. So basically you would craft a fake partner. That might work if there was someone who wasn’t trying to tie you down.” Ray pointed out what he viewed as the one obvious flaw in the scenario. His student was most likely the second most desired man of the realm, just behind the prince himself. It was rather silly as all the nobles simply assumed he would be a great addition to their families and none actually knew the man. It was true he had accrued a small fortune from his successful business and his own work, but the man was neither noble nor was he as well-connected as all the upper class seemed to believe. Jay just nodded thoughtfully.

“There is one who would work, but it will most likely take some heavy persuasion to get her to agree.” Ray looked at him questioningly before his own eyes widened in understanding.

“You can’t possibly mean Talli. That woman is more elusive than you when it comes to suitors. Just ask Walter. Even a fake relationship would be near impossible to acquire with her.”

“Yes,” Jay readily agreed. “However, she is my best chance at avoiding a difficult, if not even more impossible situation.” Ray sighed. His student was correct. It was his best chance.

“Well, I will wish you good luck. We will spend the next week preparing you for this confrontation, just in case. Consider your work with the library complete. With the way everything is organized, a blind monkey could finish the remaining work.” The governor nodded his head once before turning to leave. “Go home and rest. You will need it.”

Jay nodded in return before he made his way back down into the city. However, instead of the inn, he headed directly to Talli’s shop, picking up a bouquet of wildflowers from one of the vendor stalls on the way. If he was going to do this, he would do it right, he thought with a nervous smile. Talli was moderately surprised to see him so late, as he normally worked at this time, and gave him a beautiful smile when he presented her with the flowers. Jay lent a hand with her current medicinal concoction, and both chatted about mundane topics for a short time before Jay finally broached the topic concerning his visit. He explained in detail his situation before asking the all-important question.

“So, that’s the problem. I have a way that might save a lot of time and effort, but I’ll need your help.” Jay hesitated briefly as Talli looked at him expectantly. ‘I’m asking her to fake a relationship, not marry me,’ Jay silently berated himself. “Would you be willing to accompany me to this ball and act as though we are courting?” Talli was silent for several seconds as she stared at Jay with an amused expression.

“That’s actually a great idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. Sure, I’ll do it.” Jay opened his mouth to continue with his persuasive counterargument he had prepared before registering her acceptance and closed it just as quickly. “On one condition,” Talli continued before Jay could come up with a new response. It was her turn to avert her eyes slightly in embarrassment as she murmured, “I don’t have any formal attire, so you’ll have to purchase it for me.”

Jay sat silently as the gears of his mind rapidly churned. He burst out laughing at the unexpected request, surprising the elf before she quickly joined in. Before heading to the inn, Jay finished helping Talli with her medicines, telling her everything she would need to know for the event. On his next day off, he would pick up a dress for her to wear. He returned to the inn, whistling a happy tune.