As I leave the grove, one of the Gyger attempt to follow me. "Please, I need some time alone." She hesitates at my words. "Master not leave! Leaving again so soon, it makes us worry!" She exclaims, worry evident in her tone.
It's my turn to hesitate. I walk up to her, and embrace her. She leans into the hug, like a child being soothed by their mother. "I won't go far. Just down to the river to relax a little. I'll not be leaving the Lair for a while, don't you worry." She nods.
The water's starting to cool, and even the magically charged trees are turning an assortment of pastel reds, yellows and orange. The flowers that were once blooming on their branches have given way to bright cyan fruits. Fall's approaching rapidly.
I get as submerged as I'm able to in the kinda shallow river that runs closest to the grove. The feeling of the water streaming across my scales is quite soothing. Various kinds of small Insectoids flit above the water.
"Hey... Now that you're a bit calmer about everything... I wanted to apologize."
I furrow my brow as Shadow speaks to me, their tone is quiet and apologetic.
"I- I wanted to just- get that Malice out of Us! Angering you a little generated enough for me to shed the Core..."
You ended up also scaring Samantha and Delpha, and I'm sure now that the premier expert on Malice is aware of my situation, she's much less likely to entirely trust me.
"I know I fucked up, okay!"
Just- just don't do that again. Let me know, okay? It's much better for the both of Us that we try Our best to cooperate, instead of being two squabbling fools locked together in the same body.
"..."
I feel Shadow retreat to the back of my mind. I sigh. I'm not even sure what would have become of me by now if not for her, but it surely wouldn't have been pretty. As much of an ass as she is, I need her.
As if to consolidate my mood, a carpet of gray clouds are approaching. It's going to rain soon... Ugh. I get up, and shake off most of the water, causing my mane to poof out. I decide, why not, to check out the activity at the village. I'll still be keeping my promise to stay within the Lair, so there's no issues there.
I stop by the grove on the way, just to check in on Grandma and Delpha. "If you're heading to the village, mind if I tag along?" Grandma asks me. I see no issues with that. "Sure, it's a while, so if you get tired, let me know." And with that, we head off together.
The atmosphere is slightly tense.
"So, you really are an Otherworlder?" Samantha asks. I hesitate for a moment. "Did Delpha explain?" Grandma nods. "I'm just wondering." I consider for a moment. "I'm from a different World, yes. I fell to my death from a viewing platform, and my death saved the lives of over seventy others that would have caused the same accident if not for me."
I shiver slightly at that memory. It's like one of those bad dreams, except there's a sudden stop at the end and then you wake up in an audience with God. "As a 'reward' for my sacrifice, I am to live one life in this World." Grandma opens her mouth, closes it, and then speaks.
"So- you being the Monarch-" "All an accident. I was promised a body of a random species with above average potential." Samantha stops walking, seemingly stunned by this knowledge. "So all this- because of random chance." I nod.
"If not for my Soul inhabiting this specific body, you'd ended up with either an Emperor or Tyrant, both of which could be said to be flawed." We start walking again. "I... I suppose that your little... problem, it's a small price compared to the alternatives." She shudders.
"I- I'm sorry for being afraid. I should know better. Monsters that are able to shed their Malice, those almost never actually become Hateful... It's just-" "I'm strong and unknown and that is scary. Of course my outburst would have scared you. I'd be more worried if it didn't." She smiles a tired smile.
"I'm glad you are you, Monarch." "Please, call me Millibelle." "Millibelle, thank you for being patient with an old woman." I smile, seems at least some of her worries have abated. We walk the rest of the way in a silence that is suddenly much less awkward.
"The Monarch's here! She has a human with Her!" The gate guard announces as he spots me and Samantha approaching the village gates. There seems to be lots of construction going on? A large part of the wooden wall surrounding the village is dismantled, seemingly to make room for expansions.
Once we're within the village gate, I'm swarmed with unknown people. They're oohing and aahing at my apparent splendor. "Hey! Get back to work! Give Her some room!" A familiar voice calls out. Its Germund! He's foregone his Hunter getup, and is instead wearing something akin to a traditional Japanese carpenters outfit, a white headband around his head.
"Germund, it's been a while!" I greet him with a hand-shake. "It's not been that long, but you've already Evolved! Impressive." I introduce him to Samantha. "So, what are you doing here?" I ask. "Well, within your Lair, there's a lot of monsters, at least, more than normal, and also new or rare fauna, so the Guild is setting up a branch here to study." He explains.
"So when we heard they were hiring Hunters to aid in the construction, we all signed up!" "So Seagrass and Merkiv are here too?" Germund nods. "They're overseeing the logging over by the forest. The boss in this village consulted with your Servant, you know, uh-" "Huldr?" "Yeah! The cutie. She said it was okay as long as we only took what we needed."
Seems World Knowledge's been doing administrative work. Samantha excuses herself, heading off somewhere. I say farewell to Germund, and seek out Myra. I should probably inform the King of what's transpired. I'm led to the main building in the village, having to switch to human form to enter properly.
"Ah, Monarch! It's been a while!" The older woman greets me warmly. "Is there anything I can help you with?" I glance at the others in the room, and Myra dismisses them with a wave. Once we are alone, I speak.
"I've stopped by to update the King on some happenings with the Harmekian Kingdom." Myra stiffens up at this. "So it's true?" My confused face makes her explain. "I mean, it was announced yesterday, that the Kings pet had gone ahead and fouled the Divine Spring and kidnapped the Oracle."
Egh. "I- well, yes. Kind of." I flounder. I take a breath, and begin retelling the true version of events. Myra goes pale at the mention of the fate of the Tendon. "To think... His Highness needs to know immediately!" She brings out a head sized crystalline device and sets it on the desk.
She then stares at it. "Uh-" I begin asking, but she cuts me off with a facepalm. "Of course, I forgot." "Forgot what?" "Your Lair, it gives off such magic that it interferes with these long range communicators. I'd have to send the information with a mail-wyvern, and that takes a while."
Oh, that's the issue. "Give me a moment, I can try to fix it." I move in front of the device. Myra looks on, a mix of wonder and worry on her face. I weave a shield out of unaligned magic, same as I did on the Daggers communicator, but this time much bigger. "I'm not sure how long this will last, as the magic will dissolve and go back to the flow, but it should last long enough for us to relay our message."
I notice my hands trembling. Seems doing things this way really drains me. Myra doesn't comment on my tremors, and activates the device. A low hum comes and goes, almost like the sound that plays when you're waiting for someone to pick up the receiver. Suddenly, an image flickers into view.
It's the slightly disheveled looking King Dervix, looking like he's fresh out of the bath. He gives a sour expression. "Myra Drakefang, reporting important new information." Myra doesn't wait for Dervix to give the go-ahead, knowing better than to further upset him.
"The Monarch has just returned, and brings information regarding the events at the Spring Keep." His face changes at hearing this. His expression is less sour at least. "The fouling of the Spring was to postpone the Cleansing of the Summoning Ritual participants. She suspects that the goal is to Summon a Hero to fight her."
"The kidnapping of the Oracle was for the same reasons. In addition, she reports that the Aurellium are cooperating with the Harmekians in this endeavor." Myra finishes, a slight nervous tremble in her breath. An uncomfortable pause.
"Excellent work, Millibelle. Take good care of the Oracle. I'll have to make some arrangements, but trust me, the Harmekians will regret this." The image flickers and fades again as Dervix cuts the feed. I guess he saw us too, as I was standing next to Myra as she made the report. She takes a deep breath and smiles.
"Well, at least he wasn't too upset about us interrupting his bath. Thank you for this, Millibelle." She salutes to me. I suppose she used to be in the army. "Oh, one final thing, now that you're here." She halts me as I turn to leave.
"Could you quickly write us up a list of your Servants? With the increased Guild activity, we'd hate to accidentally start a fight we'd sorely regret." I consider for a moment. It's for the safety of both parties, as a Master is honor-bound to come to the aid of a Servant in need, and I'm sure being on the receiving end of my wrath has only one outcome in their mind.
I nod. "Give me something to write with, and I'll write it down." All my Servants are under orders to not attack first, though they're free to defend themselves... "There. Note that the Northern Trolls are only active at night, but they're really dumb." I hand her the list. She reads it over, and pauses. "You've got a Dragonewt?"
"Uh, yes. Is there an issue with that?" "No- it's- well, to be expected? I'm just surprised that your Lair extends all the way into the marshes to the south." She stutters. "I suppose I should show you." There's a map of the area hanging upon a wall. I quickly reference my own map, and make a quick circle motion upon it. "That's how big it is."
I encircled over half the map. Myra stares at me with frightened awe, and I feel that itchy sensation of her using her Unique Skill on me. "I- uhm." She's flustered. Seems this really cemented the knowledge of my power? After all, the size of the Lair is dependent upon how much area the Owner can be expected to be able to defend. My Lair is roughly half the size of London. (~For comparisons sake, London is  1 572 km²/606,9 miles², the upper size of territory for a male tiger is roughly 100 km²/38,6 miles². So Millibelle's territory is 786 km²/303,4 miles², nearly eight times the size of a male tigers territory!~)
Now that I consider it, it's kind of frightening.
Well, I've done what I came for, so I make my goodbyes and leave. Seems Samantha is done as well, and we walk together back to the grove. Just as we reach it, the rains starts. Before long, it's a full blown storm. My cave is made such that it doesn't take in rain and wind, so I spend the rest of the day listening to the storm raging outside.