Spear of Destiny by James Baldwin (room on the broom read aloud txt) 📗

deck me out. Instead, she wrapped her arms around me again, burying her face in the crook of my neck and shoulder. I put the treasure away and hugged her back, kissing her hair.

“I’m sorry.” I said quietly. “I knew you’d be freaked, but we couldn’t do anything to get in touch. All we could do was get back as fast as we could.”

“I thought you were gone.” Her fingers clutched the back of my armor. “I really did.”

“We’re fine!” Karalti lowered her head to nudge at Suri’s arm. “He died a couple of times, but I took good care of him.”

“I bet. You always do.” Suri wasn’t crying, but her voice choked as reached out to lay her hand on the dragon’s nose, still resting her forehead against my shoulder.

“We were just discussing the logistics of how to take the Volod’s ships to Dakhdir to search for you both,” Istvan added, stepping forward as Suri finally let go. I shook his hand, then Captain Vilmos’ as he followed up behind. Vash put his hands together, palm to palm, and gave me and Karalti both an ironic little bow.

“Well, just as well you didn’t. We were nowhere near-OOF.” I staggered back as Rin ran up and threw herself into my arms. The little Mercurion was a lot heavier than she looked.

“Oh my god, w-we thought you were dead! Like dead-dead!” She accidentally headbutted me in the chest, driving the wind out of my lungs as she bounced up and down. “I-was-so-worried-you-died-and-the-spawn-glitch-happened-and-you-couldn’t-respawn-and-just-kept-dying-over-and-over-”

“We’re okay, seriously.” I gave Rin a friendly one-armed squeeze, absently bringing up the Kingdom Management menu. “The Heart of Memory you gave me recorded some info, so we’ll review it and me and Karalti’ll debrief everyone on what happened. But before I call a meeting, I need to sort out the day’s agenda. Istvan, I’ve got gold for you to take to the Treasury vault. Captain Vilmos, I need you to invite three people to report to the Great Hall: Zlaslo ul’Tiranozavir, Ur Gehlan, aaaaand...” I held up a hand as I quickly checked the Kingdom Management > Mass Combat menu. “... Wing Commander Vászoly, Ravensblood Dragoons 1st Company. We need to send scouts to Bas County to get intel so we can finish up Kitti Hussar’s quest. Vash, if you can find Taethawn, I’ll schedule him for a hearing so we can sort out his pay.”

I looked around the holographic menu screen to find my friends and companions blinking at me in a daze.

“What?” I squinted at them.

“Apparently our Lord Dog grew a couple of pants sizes while he was away, eh?” Vash’s scarred and shattered face twisted in a wolfish smile.

“We already sent scouts to Bas,” Suri said. “I’ve been handling the Kingdom Quests while you and Special-K were AWOL. Check the list.”

I opened up the menu listing our Kingdom Quests, and saw she was right. We’d had about ten outstanding quests, all of which now had NPC heroes or Starborn players handling them. The biggest quest still on our list was The Last of Her House. I couldn’t remember it word for word, but as Navigail read it out, I knew the description had changed: Kingdom Quest: The Last of Her House

Lady Kitti Hussar is the 14-year-old daughter of the Count of Bas, Myszno’s southernmost county. Lady Hussar’s entire family perished in the Demon War.

In the aftermath, Zoltan Gallo, a veteran knight who deserted Count Hussar on the battlefield, has rallied a militia and declared himself the new lord of Bas. In addition to oppressing the citizens who survived the war, he has given Kitti an ultimatum—marry him, forfeit her inheritance and elevate him to the noble class, or die.

You have given Lady Hussar shelter and a reprieve from her stalker, and now, you await the return of the Yanik Rangers and Royal Dragoons who were sent to scout Zoltan’s base: the fortress city of Solonovka.

Difficulty: Moderate (Level 20-25)

Rewards: 2700 EXP, 40 Build Points, Unlock New Resources (Barley, Silver, Mana), +400 Renown (Myszno, Renown (Bas)).

Special: Quest must be completed within 7 days.

“Crap. We missed the early completion bonus.” I heaved a sigh of relief anyway. “Thanks for handling those.”

“Of course. I’m next in the chain of command. It’s my duty,” Suri said. “Couldn’t have done it without everyone here, though. ‘S been a stressful week.”

I smiled at her, then inclined my head to Captain Vilmos. “Nix the meeting with the commanders for now, then. We’ll get everyone together when the scouts return. Did they give an ETA?”

“The Ravensblood Dragoons believed their mounts could make the flight to Solonovka in half a day,” Captain Vilmos replied gruffly. “They have been gone three. We pray for their return tonight or tomorrow. As it stands, we only have ten days before the autumn harvest begins. If we don’t get him out now, Gallo will fill Solonovka’s granaries and cellars with food and dig himself in like a tick.”

“If I have to go down there and harvest it myself, I will,” I said. “Don’t worry. We can pay our soldiers, as soon as we get this gold into the treasury. Istvan, you’ll find what you need in Karalti’s saddlebags.”

Istvan drew his heels in with a click before striding over to her. Karalti obligingly crouched down, and he unbuckled one of the huge bags on her flank to look inside. When he saw the contents, his eyes widened: he cleared his throat and closed the bag again. “It’s good to have you back, Your Grace. I will handle this.”

“With skill and discretion, no doubt,” Vash remarked. “Hrrun. What else happened while you were gone? Oh, yes—the crab merchant-turned-mayor who claims to represent Karhad is here.”

“Mayor Bubek?” I asked him.

“I still cannot bring myself to call that self-appointed sloven ‘Mayor’,” Istvan said, scowling. “But yes, Bubek is here with some