A dwarf made a trade fair and square,

Swapped trinkets for treasures most rare.

With contracts in hand,

She bought half the land,

Then retired with gold in her lair.

Goldie Honorhide

Kiri was not there, although Pānihi was. I raided the kitchen for food and drink. Was no one here? I wandered out the wide doors onto the patio to eat and sat there petting Felix and thinking about what happened, specifically about Kiri. She is now my girlfriend. What a human concept. Beastkin mate and rear cubs and then part, or that is what Bear-kin do. When she says to build a relationship, we are thinking of a longer term than a few years. That will require some consideration.

It is time I found out more about her parents and these aunts. I guess the Lore Society will be a good place to get the bare bones of the information. Pun intended.

The rear gate by the stable opened, and a lad in working clothes came through. He had a pack on his back, and I thought he looked suspicious. I looked at Pānihi, who had raised her head, and then she went back to her bone.

The boy had a slight limp and a scar on his cheek. I got up to find out who he was, and then he spoke, and Kiri said, "Finish your food."

I looked, and she had lost the limp and was moving with her usual predatory grace. She grinned at me, and then the lad came back. In a low voice that stuttered slightly, he said, "H-hello. My n-name is Leo." Then, just like that, the boy disappeared, and a male Kiri was standing there.

"And you say that is only apprentice level?" I asked.

She nodded, "I have practised with Leo and Jenna a lot. Each has a characteristic I use to remind me who I am. Leo has the stutter and the limp. Jenna has an accent from the capital. Let me go and wash the scar off and get changed." She went into the house. As she went past, I noted she had a different scent covering her own. She was thorough.

Kiri soon came out and sat beside me with her own drink. She was back in her normal clothes.

"What were you doing out as Leo?" I asked.

"Scouting the neighbourhood and seeing who was watching for us. There are three, two out front and one out back. I didn't recognise any of them."

"Was being seen coming in as Leo wise?" I asked.

"I wasn't seen, and once I was in the gate, you could only see into the yard from the roofs, to that side of the stable. The roofs were empty."

I looked, and from the yard, I could see only two roofs from the houses across the lane. No windows were visible. I need to check Kiri's suite and window to see where archers could see in. I had forgotten about archers. This is very good for my Guard Class. It is a whole new area of guarding to which I had to apply the principles.

Shortly after, my Hearing Aid heard people at the front door. Kiri and I both got up and went to the lounge area.

Lord Leif entered with two guards.

"Hiya bro," Kiri greeted him.

"Hello," he said in a neutral tone. He looked at me, towering over everyone, "You are definitely Ivan."

"Hello, Lord Leif," I said.

"Just Leif is fine in private," he said as he approached to shake my hand. "So you are my sister's latest man. I hope you know what you are getting into."

I shook my head, "Nope, I have no idea."

"Ha," Leif said, "At least this one is honest, sis." Kiri just rolled her eyes. "Here," Leif said, taking out a document from a pouch, "This is a standard Bodyguard Contract to the Duchy of Hrothgar. Specifically, you are responsible for keeping Lady Kiri safe. Good luck with that." He handed me the document. I looked down at it. I would need to read it properly before I signed it. "Just get it back to me tomorrow morning," Leif said, "and I will get it registered with the Mercenary Guild."

"You don't have a problem with this?" I asked, referring to both the contract and the budding relationship.

"I have long since given up expecting Kiri to do the sensible thing," Leif said.

"I just wish he would give up trying to tell me what he thinks the sensible thing is," Kiri said.

"I have got to at least try," Leif said. "I need alcohol, do you want some?" he said

"No thanks," I said.

"Yes, please," said Kiri.

"Give it a few weeks around her," Leif said, talking to me, "and you will need alcohol as much as I do." He looked around, "Where's the cook? I thought we were having the dwarves and the Mer around tonight."

"We are," Kiri said, "Ubar is cooking the food offsite and bringing it around."

"That's good," Leif said, "It saves a lot of noise and mess."

"Yep, that is why, you poor sensitive noble," Kiri said.

This banter continued for a while, and I just watched and listened. I wasn't long before the door guard announced Yoboc, Goldie, Makara, and Kevin had arrived. I was surprised Kevin had been invited. I didn't even know he was back from the expedition to the fire ants. Kahz was on his shoulder.

Leif reiterated that there would be no titles at the informal dinner. Shortly after, lovely smells reached my nose, and Ubar arrived with the food.

During the evening, Goldie and Yoboc came to talk. "I understand Lady Kiri has offered you a guard position, Ivan," Yoboc said.

I nodded.

"You should probably take it," Goldie said. "With the windfall from the knife, Yoboc and I will buy a place here and semi-retire. We already have a place in mind, it's more than we could ever afford before."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"We will finish the Chalonian contract," Yoboc said, "but we will settle here. Jern is not as bad as its reputation reported it to be," he said.

"There is a good forest and lots of small contracts for people like us," Goldie said.

I nodded, "Sounds like it will be good for you."

Goldie looked at me, "You missed the appointment with the healer again. Do you want to get your eye fixed or not?"

"I do, we had a run-in with a monster."

"Of course you did," she said. "They seem to be attracted to you. Here are the healer's details; make your own appointment. Oh, and we traded the remaining gear, and I put your share in your treasury account. They are storing your ore for an additional fee as well. All that is left is to deal with the Chalonians."

"Did you get a visit from the Duke's investigators?" I asked.

"No, should we?"

"They are investigating the destruction of the fire ants. You weren't there, so you were probably overlooked. However, they are now interested in me, and you are connected with me. They will be asking all about me, and the female has insidious mind skills to get you to answer."

"We will be on our guard," Yoboc said. "Those lines of questions will lead to the Arctic."

I nodded. "She was working her way through my defences, so be careful."

"You need more Mental Attributes," Goldie said.

I nodded. I knew that, but I also need more Spiritual Attributes.

A little later, Kevin caught up with me. "What did you do, Ivan?"

"What did I do with what?" I asked.

"What did you do with the Fire Ants? There is smouldering, melted rock with fire affinity. In a few years, it might turn into proper Firerock. The Lore Society is setting up a permanent monitoring station there. Then those of us who came back early to report got interrogated by the Duke's investigators."

"What did you tell them?" I asked.

"What we saw and measured," Kevin answered. "The same that was in our report to the Duke. They knew you were instrumental in whatever happened, and they wanted to know all about you."

I cast my senses out. I know Kiri was listening, and I am pretty sure Leif was as well.

"Did she get into your mind?" I asked.

"The lady, Harper?" Kevin asked, and I nodded. "She tried. My mental attributes are my highest, you know. That is the same for most scholars. Nobody gets into our minds, certainly not without us knowing about it. It is also illegal, even for an investigator. I called her up on it and threatened her with assault charges."

"Wouldn't she just deny it? She had Cook to back her up," I said.

"You need to learn the law," Kevin said. "You have the right to be with someone independent of you, unless you are accused of certain serious crimes." He looked at me, "You didn't interview alone, did you?"

My ignorance was getting me into trouble. I don't think I will even be as smart as Kevin, but I could do better. I saw a growing smile on Kiri's face. I think Kevin has just increased his chances of a job offer.

"So what did you do?" Kevin pushed.

"That depends on who you are going to tell," I said.

"It has to be an affinity skill," Kevin said. "Even then, we don't know how anyone could have the spiritual attributes to do that."

"Why do you want to know?" I insisted.

"If this could be replicated and we could create spiritual minerals, it would be a fantastic boon for the city, in fact, the whole country," He said.

"Not interested," I said.

"Can I please have everyone's attention?" interrupted Kiri. "I think it is time to get to the main reason for this gathering. Thanks to Makara, I have what I need about the Blacksteel knife. This is about Ivan and his abilities. As you will know, he has raised a lot of attention with his actions with the Fire Ants. You all here are the ones who know about his abilities the most." She paused.

"You want us to keep quiet," Makara said.

"Indeed. Ivan and I have a mutual agreement that can't be completed if he is locked down for his skills. Once he becomes an employee of the Duchy of Hrothgar, we can extend certain protections, but we don't want the extent of his skills to become general knowledge."

"You want them exclusively for you," Makara said.

"Ivan is not someone who can be locked down in one place." She looked at me, "You want to say something here?"

I appreciated that she didn't just try to speak for me. "If I wanted to remain out of the attention, I should not have destroyed the nest. I can't go back and change that. The Hrothgar Duchy is offering me the best I can get right now, and Kiri and I have an agreement."

"Have you checked what Duke Vitja can offer?" Makara asked.

"Not yet," I said, "but I am not staying in one place. I am not staying here, and Kiri's offer includes a personal task for me."

"We will be here until the Chelonians arrive," Kiri said, "Which means we will have to compromise with Duke Vitja. That is yet to be discussed," Kiri said.

I hadn't considered that. I am very ignorant when dealing with people. I need to learn fast.

"And what are you getting out of it?" Makara asked.

"I am getting Ivan's help finding my aunt," Kiri said.

"Yeah, but what is your Duchy getting out of it?" Makara pushed.

"Actually," Leif said, "The Duchy is not getting anything out of this to date. Lady Kiri has financed this separately from the Duchy and is abusing her position as the Duchess's daughter to provide the Duchy's protection for Ivan." He looked around, "I am Hrothgar's representative here, so I am the one allowing this abuse of her position, and I trust that it will provide goodwill with Ivan in the future."

"Goodwill?" Makara said disbelievingly.

"Yes, goodwill," Leif said. "After all, this is only a minor overstep, considering some of the things she has done in the past. Secondly, I believe in Ivan as a person of honour, and thirdly, with the skills he has shown to date, no one can make him do anything he does not wish to."

I saw understanding dawn on Makara's face. When you thought about it, I could turn any city block into molten scrap at any time. Solar Flare is all about destruction, though. How can I use it to help? I can't make Spiritual ores. If people get too scared, I might also get assassins after me, so I have to be careful.

"Getting back to the purpose of this meeting," Kiri said, "What we want is for you not to spread what you know of Ivan's Skills. Duke Vitja already knows, because Makara sold the information to the investigators."

"Hey!" Makara protested, "They already knew most of it, so I might as well get some coin for it."

"They suspected most of it and dangled a bag of gold in front of you, and they probably didn't even need the mental prod," Kiri said. "You confirmed it all for them." I could see Makara was not happy, but Kiri continued without giving her a chance to interrupt. "We want to stop more information from getting out there, particularly to other nobles. We should be here less than three months, so it shouldn't be that hard, but you will get offers for information."

"So what are you counter-offering?" Makara asked.

I sensed Yoboc moving up beside me, "She has taken us retiring hard," He whispered.

"I am offering you a three-month exclusive contract as a guard," Kiri said.

"What or who am I guarding?" she asked.

"Ivan, but you will be pretending to guard me," Kiri said. She nodded to Leif, who pulled out another contract and passed it to Makara. "Look that over, the offer expires tonight."

Kiri looked at Yoboc and Goldie.

"We will discuss it later, Lass," Yoboc said

"Kevin, I have an offer for you later, as well," Kiri said. "What I want to know now is if you all agree in principle to protect your teammates' interests."

Yoboc and Goldie nodded, and that was a given. Kevin hadn't really been part of the team, but he was smart enough to know this was big, and if he didn't agree, he would be left out.

"I still don't get what your interest in Ivan is?" Makara asked.

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