Kit Falbo
patreon
MwN Chapter 12/52
🕑 Added 2024-10-07 14:58:50 +0000 UTCChapter Twelve
Harmony’s armor was her social armor for the first required dinner. Until she found a solution for it eating her other clothes, she couldn’t justify risking one of the few other outfits she had left. There was also the lay of the land of the capitol's current fashions, that could lead to a faux pas, while her unique creation stood out as symbolic. How silly would it be if wearing the wrong color showed she supported some aberrant faction. None of which were a priority. What irked her was to be passingly required at this social function every night while her goal was to evolve as quickly as possible.
No. That was inner turmoil rising up. Dinner is a small sacrifice, considering what would have been needed to live in the lordling tower, the Cellar, Ambrosia called it.
[Style and Grace] kept the Harmony smoothly going down the stairs as Ambrosia led the way, all business in her maid uniform. Bates was serving Prince Adric for this function. The pair followed but a few paces behind.
The meal was at a grand banquet hall, a buffet-style service the centerpiece, manned by evolved cooks and experienced wait staff, with performers looking to advance in the spectacular environment. Guests had a spot, but tables were also open to be reserved by the public. At one corner a stage played calming music, but could be spiced up for a local performance. Singular in all that space was Ma Bell’s table, jade and gold decorated to match the hotel’s dragonfly motif, fit to seat eight, and showcase both the owner and guests she invited.
The hall was packed already. Was this for her? Some of the crowd quieted at her entrance but not all. [Poise and Bearing], don’t react, keep moving. One breath, two, and the noise picked up again. Her steps were as long and smooth as she could make them toward the glamourous table.
Ma Bell was as Ambrosia described her, a plump woman, almost grandmotherly, whose presence shaped an aura of hospitality around her. Harmony was grateful for the warning, as the aura effects of the Inn Master’s skills seeped into her. False relaxation and comfort, it was like being a little drunk, inhibitions lessened, and hesitations brushed away. Every night she’d have to face it. Part of her wanted to fight tooth and nail against the influence, the part of her that felt the control her mother had held over her with her skills as a child. Society said it was okay to relax and enjoy such beneficial boons, but she’d seen the dark side. There would be no energy to wage that war day after day, and certainly, after the tough days she’d planned in the dungeon, it seemed like a recipe for disappointment. So she had a plan.
[Recall] was key. It wasn’t just for remembering things, as a maid it was important to be reminded at the right time. You could use the skill to set up reminders to prod you at certain times or situations. Before she’d speak it would remind her to check herself, while it might make conversational flow a little off, it would be best to prevent a stumble that could wreck her. With everyone at the table under Ma Bell’s effects, she doubted they’d notice. If this worked she knew she could keep the relaxing benefits without any potentially negative aspects.
Ma Bell stood up and gave a short bow. “Lady White. I hope the accommodations have been up to your standards.”
Was that a subtle dig? It was the nicest place she’d stayed in. But it wouldn’t take much to dig up her history and figure out the standards she’d been forced to accept had been everything from the street to the maid dormitory and the run-down manor they’d acquired right after she’d achieved ladyship. The reminder prodded her to speak. “They’re absolutely wonderful and will serve me magnificently for my stay at the capital's premier inn.”
“And Prince Adric, what an honor to have one of the contenders to the crown at my table. They say the more unique the path the more interesting the results. And so gracious in supporting one of the newest peers.”
Adric hadn’t set up the same protections. “The honor is all mine, Madam Bell. You’ve been nothing but the supreme and generous host to us since we arrived. My bonded Bowe loves the open-air accommodations you’re providing.” His normal, without-a-care smile, stretched wider than usual on his perfect face.
While the prince might have missed it, Harmony didn’t. As unacknowledged as he was it was hard to call Adric a contender for the crown under current circumstances, and the unique path involved the man’s death. The woman even pointedly ignored the very public link Harmony had with the prince, stressing that he was doing this out of good graces rather than the truth. Did only accentuating the positive feed into her skills?
Harmony took the seat Ambrosia pulled out for her to the host's right, and Adric took his seat at the innkeeper's left.
“The other guests will be here shortly. One you’re both intimately familiar with.”
Oh, how nice. [Recall] righted the Lady Maid. Not nice. Surprises were not ideal, and she made a mental note to get the guest list before each of these dinners. If she’s going to attend this every night it would be required.
“Oh, how nice,” Adric responded not having a personal filter.
The worst options popped into Harmony’s head first, Lord Tyler inserting himself or guild master Hemlock taking his own trip to poke his nose into this mess.
“There she is!” Ma Bell stood up. “Princess Rosaline, welcome to my table. It’s always a delight to get the talk of the town visiting.”
The grimace on Rose’s face was enough to see that at least someone else had taken sensible precautions. Going by how their host had addressed herself and Adric, Harmony guessed the ‘talk of the town’ was not positive talk, as much as Ma Bell gave it a positive tone. Nothing that was in her letters to Adric.
Lady Coodley had once talked about women like this host, those who delight in chaos, suffering, and others' misery, but only in the most pleasant way and their motivations. The conversation had been a way to spend time while Harmony had worked her necromantic magic to facilitate youthful looks, back when she was new to the skill enough that it took time greater than a practiced wave of her hands and magic. [Recall] pulled up the details. Four types of women acted this way, those who delighted in gossip, those who delighted in pain, those who wished to rehabilitate or fix problem children, and those who actively tried to make things worse. Who was Ma Bell?
“How could I refuse a chance to see my brother and his companion.”
That wasn’t good. While they weren’t friends, they had fought in the dungeon together, and to be called his companion, over any other name felt wrong. [Poise and Bearing] and borrowing some of the claiming effects of the table kept Harmony from reacting. And how did she want to talk to Rose? As Princess Rosaline, former teammate, or her pet’s sister? Or could this be her lady maid profession overreacting due to stress?
Rose didn’t sit next to either of them, instead taking the spot at the opposite end of the table, furthest away from Ma Bell. Any conversation that would be had, would need to be done over the full length of the table for all to hear. The other guests' arrival interrupted any choice to start a conversation early.
At least all the newcomers were strangers and Ma Bell had words for them all. Perrish Nim, a priest, was complimented on his devout nature. Which could mean anything, having a vaguely religious class or profession never required you to be ecclesiastical in nature. Barb, a speculative trader, received a compliment on their bold financial strategies. Timmy Tone owned several clubs and social businesses in the city. Adric looked uncomfortable at his arrival, and Ma Bell mentioned it had been a long time since they’d seen each other. The last seat was left empty, a tradition in case someone dropped in, or the innkeeper chose to recruit from the banquet hall guests.
With a slight nod, the servants departed to fill up plates from the buffet to bring back to the table. Timmy, Barb, and Perrish each had a member of the inn’s staff in their green and gold uniform fetching food. The only outside servant besides Bates and Ambrosia was the one Rose had been accompanied by.
“It’s always nice to have extra hands helping with dinner,” Rose said as they all busied off.
Harmony had to swallow the bit of ice that started to form in her throat. Helping hands, the queen’s not-so-secret hidden muscle. Was that who the unassuming girl next to Rose was? [Recall] failing to pull up details wasn’t a good sign. That could be paranoia talking.
“Definitely,” Barb replied agreeably.
“One of those aristocratic benefits the aristocracy seems to get. My family loves having a cadre of them.”
Definitely a hint that the woman was one of the Queen’s Helping Hands. Against a spy, Harmony didn’t feel like she’d have much to worry about, but if the girl was an assassin?
“Are you finding this to be the case, Lady White?” Perrish asked.
“Mine are indispensable. But I also have a unique perspective.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve seen the story in the backsheets about how you climbed up from lesser circumstances, being a maid and having a difficult class.” Perrish continued.
Good to see necromancer was still a dirty word. “Let’s say my familiarity with all of those dirty tasks allows me to appreciate quality help.”
The trays of food started to come. Harmony made sure Rose’s “servant” was in earshot. “I’m still technically a maid, a lady maid now. I like to consider myself still in service of the kingdom and people. To let you all know of a little secret there will soon be an announcement from the guild about how key my service to the kingdom will be.”
Would that be enough to avoid poison slipped into her food or a hidden knife? Bah, paranoia. Ambrosia wouldn’t let anyone mess with her food. She speared a tender piece of beef and slipped it into her mouth. The way the salty fat dissolved in her mouth without overwhelming the meat, sent waves of pleasure through her. [Recall] studdered, failing to trigger, as she let out a slight moan. “Sublime, Ma Bell.” Harmony blurted out.
“I’d challenge our chefs against the best ones in any of the evolved kingdoms.”
The food forestalled much of the conversation, as all the guests discovered the joys of the Dragonfly Inn’s buffet. How everything tasted almost made up for the requirement to dine here every night.
Under the innkeeper’s influence, the conversation was nudged forward. Goblets of wine and cider lowered barriers further. And Ma Bell had only to say a few words to get conversations flowing. Barb pontificated on business dealings involving the trade of dungeon materials, mostly complaining about how difficult it was to exchange with the evolved kingdoms. “What do you think of the economic predicament, Lady White?” The host asked.
Everyone else had either been prodded to provide or gave their opinions unbidden. It became clear that the host wanted everyone to be slightly involved. The economics Harmony knew touched upon household management, and even then she hadn’t focused on that set of skills. Bates and Ambrosia would have been better suited to answer. Other than that it was Tyler’s spare books, and that one she’d found in the attic. As old as it was, it reminded her that dungeons were the sources of the kingdom’s economy and any changes had rippling effects.
“Hazeldown will become a focus at least briefly. With the spirit’s renewed appearance, new things are brewing that should bring opportunities as news gets out. One must move fast though.” Less than forty days now to evolve and get back. Fast was an understatement.
“I’d imagine there will be risk there too, with the nature of the city.” Barb ponderously reflected.
“Risk for reward is the nature of life,” Harmony murmured still in her thoughts.
“Tone knows all about risky business ventures” Bell chimed in with a chuckle.
The club owner huffed. “There’s no risk with the right customers.”
“Like Adric here.” Bell teased
Both Tone and Adric flush at this, enough to cause Harmony to wonder if she should question this aspect of her pet’s past.
“I enjoy your venues,” Rose interjected.
Eyes on the princess, the slight chaos of a goblet of wine tipping over, and Bates collecting Prince Adric's plate while deftly dabbing up the mess went nearly unnoticed. [Recall] let Harmony see his professionalism crack briefly as he glared at Rose’s help. Ambrosia moved to help with the table, stepping between the Helping Hand and the prince as Bates fetched some fresh food.
Harmony only kept one ear on the conversation as she fumed. Going after her, she expected, but to go after poor Adric. The boy was mostly disowned, not even able to collect funds. There was no question about the complicated nature of his situation, but to be so underhanded.
Ambrosia gently touched Harmony's shoulder as she poured fresh wine into a glass that had frost along the edge, pulling the necromancer out of her fuming enough to give her a slight shake of her head, signifying no.
It wasn't her place. Bates liked to handle staff issues away from the eyes of those he served, be it theft, pettiness, or attempted harm. At Coodly house, one didn’t mess with the masters, because one knew the bruises that could come with even minor infractions. One of the queen’s helping hands might be a different issue.
[Recall] prompted Harmony that her name was being said and she used it to backtrack to the question. “Oh, I’m not planning on many social visits this trip. I expect to spend most days exercising, progressing in the dungeon, and then sharing Ma Bell’s lovely table before getting rest. I can’t imagine the invitation it would take to pull me out of my routine.”
“How dedicated. I always say we should aspire to grow how the evolved kingdoms do.” Perrish tagged on.
The meal wound down, while Harmony felt her anxiety wind up as she refused to let herself relax too much under the host's calming influence. [Poise and Bearing] got plenty of exercise as she limited herself to clipped, polite responses until she saw the opportunity to excuse herself.
“I must go. In the morning, Nae’s Garden calls me to action. A lovely dinner and company for all. Ma Bell, I will see you tomorrow to do this again.” Harmony could spot disappointment in the woman’s eyes that she was the first to leave. But she’d be back day after day for more rounds of this chaos. Ambrosia better be right that this place is worth it. With [Style and Grace] she made her way back to the stairs
Once the door to her suite clicked shut, Harmony let all her skill-supported masks drop, “Aaaaaahrrrrrrrgggh.” she groaned with equal parts frustration and exhaustion before she plopped onto a lounging chair. “Why wouldn’t you let me get that rotter who messed with my pet, if it was one of your birds you’d have skinned the woman?”
Ambrosia finished loosening her uniform to more comfortable levels. “Adric wasn’t acting in the role of your pet today and Bates will handle it. The woman tried to slip bless-wort into the prince’s food.”
The name was vaguely familiar, but [Recall] felt so raw and tender from its use at the dinner that Harmony didn’t feel like she should use it.
“A plant used for banishing undead, particularly potent.” Ambrosia clarified at Harmony's lost look.
A poor necromancer she was, never caring about the raising undead aspects of her skills. But for her undead pet. “She was trying to kill…!:
“Oh calm down. We tested every such thing on Adric, at his insistence. The boy has so much odd vitality the plants and charms are useless. You’ve tried to use your dead manipulation skills on him, remember? At worst it would have given him a stomach ache, which would make him act like a whiny baby. I think Bates wanted to avoid that most of all, rather than be called upon to bring him chicken soup and read him one of those Dragon Rider books. Also, the principle of letting such a thing happen to the person he is serving go unchecked would gall him.”
“I’ve kind of ignored the problem of not knowing what I brought him back as. He hasn’t been sneaking away to suck the life force of innocent virgins?”
Ambrosia snorted. “He has to take extra effort to keep experienced trollops from sucking him. Dealing with whatever prince Adric is, can be done after we get you evolved and through whatever challenge the dungeon has planned.”
A knock interrupted harmony, and by the time a follow-up knock came. Ambrosia had her uniform tightened up and was at the door.
Harmony grumpily used her social skills to collect herself.
“Princess Rosaline, how unexpected. Your brother’s suite is down the hall.”
“I’ve come to see Lady White.”
“Fine. Let her in.” The necromancer said, her tone as cold as the chilled space around her. [Cold Touch] Once the inner representation of how distant she’d been from her friends, was now an icy furious finality. The dutchess, Princess Rosaline, and the rest of those royals had left them to flounder for themselves those months after Old Bones revealed itself. Only Bates's experience and Ambrosia’s organizational skills had helped keep things manageable.
“Harmony, I…” The princess started.
“I expected better of you, Rose. Ignoring me since I became a Lady is fine, we had one dungeon dive together. But poor Adric. I had some hope with your letters, but playing a role in attempting to poison him on his first day back. That’s cold.“ Cold air bellowed out, and Harmony watched with some satisfaction as the princess shivered.
“What?! I swear I didn’t know. It’s not like I was ignoring you, didn’t Adric tell you candidates for the crown aren’t allowed to interact with lesser unevolved nobles for fear of losing authority to them or affecting their growth.”
“If you're not allowed then why are you here?”
“You’re not lesser. Can’t you tell? You have more authority than I do.”
“How would I be able to tell? No one has taught me anything about authority. Even Adric, darling boy he is, admitted he did his best to avoid caring about it, dodging tutors, doing anything but dealing with it.”
“Have you not inspected another noble or yourself?”
It’s rude to use such skills on people, and completely unacceptable for a maid to do so on someone they are serving or their guests. Even when she had inappropriately acted nothing about authority was ever shown. There was also no need to use the skill on yourself when you could pull up all the information you needed on a whim. [Analyze]
Ranger Princess - Base - Authority -Weak
A fancy room like this wasn’t without plenty of mirrors, they always made the space feel open and light. Harmony forced herself to find her reflection. An angry pout graced her face, ice crystals adding sparkle to her brows, hair, and lashes. [Analyze]
Lady Maid Necromancer - Advanced - Challenger - Authority- Risen
“Authority, Risen. What does that even mean?”
“When nobles inspect other nobles their authority designations are revealed, unless they have something that masks it. I’m one rank above the lowest, you’re four ranks up. It’s actually quite an accomplishment. “
Accomplished enough to hurt both her and Hyacinth, not that Harmony would tell the princess that. “I don’t care about any of that. I’m here to evolve. If me being a higher rank means you want my goodwill, then help with that, and don’t try to poison my pet.”
“Do you really see Addy as a pet? I know his new class is odd.”
“It is what he is. It doesn’t matter what I see him as. I can’t change how we are connected to each other. And one thing I’ve learned in this world is you never threaten someone’s bonded pet. So if that is the designation I need to use to get the point across I will. Please show yourself out!”
“I…” The princess inhaled and the Harmony watched as her face settled into some aspect of a social mask from a skill. With a curtsy, Rosaline turned and left out a door held open by Ambrosia.
