forth at their assigned tasks. The few women I saw seemed to be extremely busy.
“Let’s head home,” I announced, turning my horse to head for the main keep.
“You mean your home,” Penny said bitterly.
“About that Penny, we need to talk…”
“Don’t worry Mordecai, I’ll move in with my father,” she stated.
“Actually that won’t do,” I responded. “The requirements of the bond… remember? You and Cyhan will be staying at the keep. There should be plenty of room.” I had meant to talk to her about this, but I didn’t want to do it in front of the others, especially Cyhan.
“As long as I don’t have to sleep near you,” she said bluntly.
I held my tongue and we continued on. The gate house leading into the castle was unmanned, which wasn’t surprising. There were barely enough people to manage the gates. Honestly I was surprised they were even doing that. People had to eat and every man had something else important to be doing. We were almost to the main door when Dorian came barreling out.
“Mordecai!” he shouted in greeting, and then he looked at everyone else. “Penny, Marcus… am I ever glad to see the two of you! Who’s your new friend?” He indicated the giant warrior.
I started to answer him but Penny was quicker, “Oh Dorian this is my new teacher, Master Cyhan.”
“Teacher?” Dorian was puzzled.
“I had to form the bond with Mordecai. I am Anath’Meridum now. Anyway the important thing is I’m learning to fight under Master Cyhan’s skillful tutelage. He’s really quite amazing. You two should compare notes. I’m sure even you might learn a few things Dorian. He’s been training the Anath’Meridum his entire life,” Penny said, practically gushing.
I couldn’t recall her ever acting so excited about someone in my entire life. Certainly it had to be for my benefit. That’s what my rational mind said; the rest of me was turning green.
Dorian strode up to Cyhan and offered his hand in greeting, “It is an honor to meet you. The fighting skills of the Anath’Meridum are legendary. Their teacher must be extraordinary.” The older warrior clasped his hand and they shook. I noted that they stood eye to eye, and it was anyone’s guess as to who was bigger.
“Well met Dorian. You do me too much honor, I am but one of a long line of teachers,” Cyhan answered.
“You’re too modest. Honestly Dorian, he’s taught me so much already,” she put her hand on Cyhan’s well- muscled arm in an almost proprietary way, as if she were claiming possession. Then again perhaps my jealousy was overreacting. Dorian caught my eye for a second, an unspoken question was written in his gaze. Even he could tell something was going on.
“Let’s go inside,” he said. “Marc I haven’t seen you in ages. You must have a hundred stories to tell by now.”
A few minutes later we were seated at the high table in the feast hall. I had never presided over an official dinner at the castle yet but the table’s size and prominent position proclaimed its future role. “Before we catch up on casual matters tell me what’s been going on Dorian. Cecil indicated that there has been some excitement since we left.”
Dorian’s expression grew dark, “I finally got to meet your monsters.” That got our attention and Dorian spent the next half an hour relaying the story to us. He downplayed his own role in the battle but my father came in before he was done and corrected the omission.
“Don’t listen to him son, Dorian here fought like a lion. If it hadn’t been for him we’d have been overrun by the hell spawn!” Royce said as he came over. I got up to hug him.
“I would have guessed that even if you hadn’t told me,” I said.
“Your dad saved my ass Mort,” Dorian added. He proceeded to describe Royce’s plan to extract him from the mob of undead who had overpowered him. Between the two of them I got a reasonably complete account of what had happened.
“So this was almost a week ago, has there been any sign of them since?” I asked.
“We’ve had nary a peep from them,” my father replied.
“I think your dad scared them off,” Dorian laughed.
“I only wish that were true,” I said. I gave them what I had learned regarding the shiggreth and their dark origins.
“How’d you learn that?” Dorian asked.
“Marc told me, though Rose knew about them too. Apparently it’s one of the finer points of history that I missed out on.”
Dorian looked at Marc, “I don’t recall you being that keen on history.”
“My information came from a higher source,” he answered solemnly. That led to a detailed discussion about Marc’s new vocation. Dorian was pleased by the news. The Thornbears had long been devout followers of the Lady of the Evening Star and Dorian was no exception. Finding out that one of his best friends had become a saint of the Lady was a thing for celebration in his mind. Royce just grunted noncommittally. He had never had much use for the gods.
“By the way Dorian,” Marc went on, “Lady Rose sends you her greetings. She was most interested in your doings since she last visited. She sends her apologies that she had to remain behind.”
Dorian’s face lit up. He had always been terrible at hiding his emotions. “Is she well?”
“She said to tell you that she is in excellent health and looking forward to seeing you soon. She will be coming to stay here in a few months,” Marc replied. He was enjoying his role as messenger far too much.
“Why are you telling me though? Shouldn’t she be giving such messages to Mort?” Dorian had gotten so flustered at news of Lady Rose he had completely forgotten I had been there when she gave Marc her messages. I smiled inwardly.
“He was there Dorian,” Marc sighed, “and she was most specific. She wanted me to let you know personally that she would be coming and looked forward to continuing her conversation with you.”
Penny laughed at Dorian’s confusion, “Give it up Marcus. He’s never going to get it. Not until she brains him with a large club and drags him back to her den.”
Dorian glared at her. Uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going he sought to change it, “Penny you’ll be pleased when you see your rooms. We finished setting up the furnishings and the workmen completed the rest of that floor as well.”
The light in her eyes went out, “I’m sure it’s very nice Dorian but I won’t be staying there. Mordecai has decided to terminate our engagement.”
“What!?” Dorian’s shout was exceptional. He managed to draw that one word out into a ten second exclamation of shock and dismay. Across the table my father’s face also showed surprise but he kept his silence. He was wise enough to wait till later to question me about it. Dorian recovered his voice and went on, “What did you do!?” Naturally he was addressing me. I worried for a moment he might try to throttle me.
“Whoa! Calm down Dorian. We can talk about it later, this isn’t the time,” Marc interjected, hoping to forestall a messy argument. Dorian looked from Marc to me and back to Marc again. His face was clearly communicating the message that we would need to talk… and soon.
Penny broke the awkward pause, “I’ll need alternative sleeping arrangements Dorian. My master…,” her eyes shot me a look of utter disdain, “requires that I stay within two hundred yards of his presence at all times.”
That riled me up, “Now hold on here, Penelope!” I spit her name out as if it were a curse. “The two hundred yards is a result of the bond you lied to me about, so don’t go trying to hang the blame on me for that!”
“I stand corrected. Please forgive me your excellency,” she replied in mock obeisance. “As you can see Dorian I am no longer worthy of being in his lordship’s exalted presence so I will require a different room.”
Poor Dorian was caught in the middle, and ill-equipped to deal with it. “Well, there’s not much extra room at the present. I was going to offer to have Cyhan and Marcus stay in your old house, but if you need it…”
“That’s too far for her,” Cyhan put in, “but for me it would be fine.”
“What about the other rooms?” Penny asked. The floor that held our suite also had a number of rooms for guests.
“All the villagers are sleeping inside the walls at night. The rooms have been occupied though I suppose I could put one of the families in the barracks…,” Dean suggested.
“No that’s fine,” Penny said. “Cyhan won’t mind the barracks; he’s a military man after all. We can both stay there.” Cyhan’s eyebrows went up at this.
