I especially told him how she sent me here to hook us up. Then I laughed, "I canxt even be upset with her, because she was so right to do this."
"I am glad she did it, too. I did not know she was thinking about me and you, but she is a good queen." Kershka said.
"She must really like you." I said. "Because she is not very sweet typically."
"We did have nice talks the few times we met." Kershka said.
"Well, she gave you some gifts." I informed him, taking them out and offering them to him. They were wrapped, though I had an inkling to what they may be.
"Oh, presents. I wonder what is in them. Should I open them now?" Kershka asked.
"Yes, I think so." I said.
He opened them to find jungle wood, padauk wood, butternut wood, rosecork, and blackwood. I stared at the rosecork wood. I had heard that they collected the heat of fire, but never burned.
"Have you seen this kind before, Hjerte? It grows near the Sea of Fallen Stars." I said, placing my hand against the wood.
"I have seen most of these, but that is not one I am familiar with. It feels different from any I have held." Kershka said.
"It is fireproof because of how much water it absorbs." I told him. "It keeps the heat from the fire, and is used in construction of homes on a volcanic island because it does not burn."
"I think I have found what to do when you patrol. So many ideas." Kershka said.
I giggled and said, "I look forward to seeing what you do." I started smelling a really strong and sweet floral scent. "Do you smell that? It's like flowers."
"I do. Where is it coming from? It's so strong." Kershka said.
I hopped up and followed my nose, closing my eyes. I heard Kershka following me, also curious. I stopped and opened my eyes when Kershka breathed in sharply. Seeing Shaska's tree where Aiko was often kept, I looked up and saw Aiko's egg with cracks that leaked a liquid. I looked at Kershka and saw the delight on his face.
"Aiko is coming out?" I asked.
"Aiko is ready to be out!" He said, taking Aiko down and letting it hatch in his hands.
It took some time, but soon, the little spider emerged, wobbly and the size of Kershka's hand. Aiko was pink and white with blue designs. It almost looked like a phase spider, but with teeth for chewing, rther than biting and consuming liquids. This Fey spider ate fruit, the entirety of it. Judging from the abdomen, it was a very tired girl.
"Ah. She's probably hungry, do we have anything for her?" I asked.
"Yes, yes, yes, I can get her fruit. Will you hold her? It is inside the house. I don't want any of the furniture getting an idea." Kershka said.
As strange as that was, I gently accepted Aiko from him. "Hello, baby Aiko. We have waited for you." I told her.
He came back out after a minute with an arm full of different fruits. "I didn't know what she would want, so I asked for a variety." He said.
I smiled at my sweetheart, and held Aiko out to him, so she could choose what she liked. "See? Papa already loves you." I said.
She climbed over to Kershka and started eating a mango. He said, "I don't know enough about her species to know if she needs to be inside or not."
"She needs to be raised just like a baby. Taught morals, though they are inclined to not hurt anyone anyways, they are so rarely not within the Fey." I said. "Aiko is less of a pet like Shaska seems to be, and more like an adopted child."
"Ok, so inside then." Kershka said. "It's going to be good when the house is done."
I nodded. "Yes. The good thing is she should be very capable of understanding us."
"Already? She is smart." He said.
"Mhm. She's been hearing us, after all. When she takes human shape, she'll be a pretty toddler. Just.. careful, because children are very curious and into everything." I told him.
"Ooh... she should not stay in Bibs' house. There are a lot of contracts involved with the furniture." Kershka said.
"Hm. Well, there are options. Like the Inn or your other friends' homes. Or camping." I pointed out.
"Camping could be fun, but dangerous. Gregor lives with Ashtar. Alex lives in someone else's house. And Tilton sometimes scares me. Maybe I could ask Isarial for help with the house." Kershka said.
"The little boy?" I asked.
"Yes. That one. He is very smart." Kershka said.
"Alright. We can talk to him." I said.
"Only problem is, I don't know where he might be. Could ask Adelaide." Kershka said.
"Hm. Alright. It would be good to see her anyways." I said. "Though, it is just about dinner time."
"Well, then, we can eat. Then go find her." He said. "Aiko is already beating us to dinner."
"She is." I smiled. "What do you want to eat, my Hjerte?"
"Watching her eat makes me very hungry. I just want a big slab of meat." He said.
"Alright. Let's go do some shopping and I'll make a lovely meal." I said.
"Ooh, this is gonna be good. What all do we need?" He asked.
"Hmm. Pretty much just some meat from Arthur's stall. We better hurry, cause he'l be closing up shortly." I said, turning and heading for the stall.
"Then we better run. Want to see who is faster?" He asked.
"Sure. But don't jostle Aiko too much." I said.
"Ok. Handicap it is." He said.
With that, we ran over that way. I beat him there, laughing and made my purchase with Arthur. Then we headed to our home, not that we entered, with Biri joining us. I set up a cook fire in a cozy spot on our property. I got to work cooking, then. I used my wok to sear the meat and herbs in olive oil. I made sure to add some vegetables, too. Then at the end, I added bread.
Once everything was ready, I gave Kershka and Biri big plates of the food and then made my own plate. For it being so simple, it smelled so good. Biri was already digging into her meal, I looked at Kershka, "Eat up, Love."
He had a mouth full, looking at me with a look of a child caught getting extra sweets. He gave a thumbs up and continued eating. I giggled, beginning to eat as well. Aiko had fallen asleep, I noticed. I giggled and cuddled up to Kershka. I also noticed attention being paid to us and our meal by the workers. I used my duplication item on the extra portions.
Then I waved them over, "If you got plates, I'll fill 'em!" I called.
That was all it took. The dwarves joined us, boisterously and once they had their plates filled, they dug in heartily. I had to duplicate the food a few times before people were adequately sated. It reminded me of my family. Boisterous and loud people sharing food. With my meal half ate, cuddled up to Kershka, I dozed off.
Kershka woke me up after the dwarves had cleaned up and went back to work. I sat up a bit, "I fell asleep?" I asked confused.
"Yup. You slept real good. For a little while. I figured we needed to go." Kershka said.
"Yes, you're right." I said. I got up, and gathered my things. "Alright, let's go Darling."
We went to Hearthstone Town, though I wasn't sure where we'd find Adelaide. Her beau was captian of guard, though, so I figured going to the guards area would be a good start. So we walked that way. Amusingly enough, once we entered the large chamber where the guards baracks were, we could hear and see Isarial and another boy his age racing each other along the exercise course for the guards.
There were three groups of adults, one of which included Adelaide and Haril, another a pair of Leonin, and the third was Kreig, his wife, and an elder, with a red-haired teen girl. When we had gotten closer, the other boy slipped from the hand bars. He was gearing up to land incorrectly, but Isarial grabbed his arm. This action jerked his other arm in an awkward way, but righted the other boy.
Isarial dropped him and said, "Jeez, Simon. You're a bit heavy to be a clutz." He let himself drop and inspected his shoulder for injury.
"That did not look good." Kershka said.
Haril and Adelaide approached Isarial, inspecting him. The male leonin walked up to Isarial and said, "Well, let's fix that." And popped Isarial's shoulder into place.
"A common injury for the Jungle. It's better to let others fall." I said. Once we had joined them, I offered some herbs from the jungle that were good for such injuries. "Here, this is good for your joint after dislocating it."
Isarial hesitated, but took it. "I don't know this herb."
So I told him what it is and it's other uses. "It's practically a weed on the Isla."
"Well, maybe we should plant some of those in the garden." Adelaide said.
"That's a good idea, Mom. I'll fetch some sprouts from the island." Isarial said.
"Do not. I will get it for you. It is amost rain season, and drowning is very likely." I said.
"Then I'm going with you. I'm to tall to drown." Kershka said.
"We can not bring Aiko." I said. "Flood waters can go over even your head in five minutes."
"Alright. Just be very careful." Kershka said.
"Why not just wait for the floods to stop, then?" The Leonin asked.
Instead of me answering, Isarial spoke. "It's not vitally important. When will the flooding end?"
"It is typically over the middle of Winter." I answered.
"So December? Alright. I'll get it then." Isarial said with a shrug.
"Alright. Just be careful. Many tigers and tigrine live in the trees." I said.
"Pfft. By then they should be careful of him." The Leonin said.
"Still be careful, Isarial, she lived there and knows what she's talking about." Adelaide said.
"I understand. The Tigrine I've seen, minus the Queen, Dwarf Uncle, so I'll be careful." Isarial said.
"That is true. He's basically a pygmy." I said.
The Leonin looked to Isarial. "It is extremely difficult not to take that as an insult."
"It's ok, Uncle. You can beat them regardless of your stature." Isarial said.
"Well, of course, I could." The Leonin said.
"Umm.. Isarial, I wanted to ask a favor before anything else happens." Kershka said.
"What is it, Big Guy?" Isarial asked, looking up at him. "Oh, that's the new spider, isn't it. Is it asleep?"
"She seems asleep, yes. She had lots of fruit. I was hoping you could think of a way to help our house get built faster. With Aiko here, I don't want her wondering Bibs' house." Kershka explained.
Isarial had a contemplative look to him for a moment. "Maybe. But I would have to see the plans and what all is done now."
"Okay, you can come by when you have time. It is just down the road." Kershka said.
"Nearby the mansion?" He asked.
"Yup, real close. Tilton gave us permission for it." Kershka said.
"No promises, but I'll see what I can do, and get back to you." Isarial said. "You're welcome to stay in the mansion or Hearthstone in the meanwhile."
"You have a place we can use?" Kershka asked.
"Yeah. There are plenty of places that are still empty in the city section. Or for shorter term, there are apartments. Would you like to look?" Isarial said.
"Okay," Kershka said, then looked at me, "Do you want to look with us?"
"I can do that." I agreed.
Isarial excused himself from the others, and told us to follow him. He showed us to the housing first, it was roomy, and not suitable for short stays, having multiple rooms, I thought. But when he showed us the apartments and explained he designed the for short term comfort of a single or transitionary life, we were able to settle on one. We just had to clean it up well before moving into our home.
Once we decided to use the apartment for now, Isarial gave Kershka a key to it and made an odd comment. "I don't mean to pry, but be mindful of your body.. I'll go check out things about your house before I go to bed tonight."
"I wonder what he means by that." Kershka said.
"I'm not sure.. maybe he was meaning to be mindful of my body when we have sex?" I suggested.
"I try to already." He said.
"It's not like he'd know we already did it." I replied.
"I don't know. He knows a lot of things that doesn't make sense that he knows." Kershka said.
I shook my head a little. "Well, it's alright if he knows or not. I suppose I will take more care, just in case. Maybe I seem off."
"I don't see anything, but. We can try to be more careful." Kershka said.
"Should we put our daughter to bed?" I asked.
"I think that's a good idea. She seems pretty tired." He said.
"She was just hatched, I think that's normal." I said.
"Ok. As long as she is ok." He said.
"I think she is. Or she could be preparing to shed her spider skin." I said.
"We're going to have to keep an eye on her for a while. Just to be sure." He said.
I nodded. We put her in a room on a bed, then went out to the living space. "I should fetch some food to have here for you and Aiko."
"I am not the best cook, but I can make do." Kershka said.
"Hm. Well, I can get an ice box and pre-make you meals for the week." I suggested.
"An ice..? You're going to put ice into a box?" Kershka asked.
"It keeps food cold." I told him.
"It can keep it cold for a whole week? Wow." Kershka said.
I nodded. "Yep."
"I will not turn down a weeks worth of your food." Kershka said.
"I'll get a small one. But a big one when our house is ready. How's that?" I asked.
"Ok. That sounds like a good addition." Kershka said.
I grinned. "I'll go get everything while you sleep."
"I would go with you, but I should stay near Aiko in case she wakes up." Kershka said.
I nodded. "What a great Papa you are!" I hugged him.
He hugged me back. "You are a great Mama. Making sure everyone is fed."
I took advantage of the hug to steal a kiss. "I'll be around more when I train Osgard properly. But still not a lot. I'm sorry."
He kissed me back. "It will be ok. You have responsibilities."
I snuggled up to him. "Thank you. I'm sorry still. I've aways loved this job. But I promise I'll be good to you and Aiko. And our babies later."
"I have not doubted that." He said.
"Anything you wanna do for now?" I asked.
"I'm not sure. Do you have suggestions?" He asked.
"Hm. You could read to me, if you're wanting to not be noisy." I said.
"Working on my reading skills would be a good idea. We can do that." He said.
I smiled at him. "You're so good to me. I would love to hear you read to me."
"Ok, I will get the books." He said.
I hoped up and sprinted to another room, then returned with a blanket. I cuddled into Kershka's lap and wrapped us up in the blanket. The perfect way for us to have story time. "All ready." I said.
He chuckled and caressed my head, then began reading to me. I kissed him after each page for eight pages, and dozed off after that. I felt Kershka gently stroking my face after some time. I opened my eyes, blinking in confusion. Then I smiled at him.
"My Darling." I said.
"You're awfully sleepy lately." Kershka said.
"I can't even blame your stamina for it today." I said.
"You can sleep a bit longer if you want." Kershka said.
"I want to kiss you." I replied.
He kissed me. "Is that all you want? Just kiss?"
I kissed him back. "I can be satisfied with kisses. But we should get you to bed."
"Okay, reading really wears me out." Kershka said.
So we went to bed. Shortly after he fell asleep, I slipped away from Kershka and used the Port Key to go buy the ice box and all the food stuff they'd need for the week. I went back and began cooking the meals for Kershka, and stored the fruit for Aiko. Once I was finished, and cleaned everything up, checked on Aiko, then slipped back into bed with Kershka.
I fell asleep again. Waking slowly, seeing Kershka smiling at me. After kisses, we got up and checked on Aiko. She had shed her exoskeleton and was checking the room out. We took her for some breakfast, I cooked a fresh meal for Kershka and I while Kershka fed Aiko her fruit. Then I served our food and we ate.
I walked with Kershka and Aiko to Dueling Rivers, then parted ways with them, heading South to meet up with Osgard. Over the next couple days I noticed I was getting fatigued rather easily. I started gettin nauseous randomly throughout the day, and the fourth day my breasts became tender. I was also much hungrier than usual.
The fifth day, as I woke when Osgard did, I said, "I think I might be pregnant. Or sick."
"Those are two very vastly different things. Do you have a way to figure out which it is?" Osgard asked.
"Not here, no. We are near Hearthstone, I will get a check up when we are closer." I replied.
"Alright, let me do the lifting for now, then. I would hate for you to be pregnant and suffer an incident."
"Yes, that makes sense." I agreed, starting to make breakfast. Nausea struck hard as I did so. "Isarial told me to be careful with my body."
"I would guess pregnant, then. We should get you checked sooner rather than later." Osgard said.
"Yes." I said, "But if I'm pregnant, I still intend to continue with the month of training."
"That is fine. Just be easy, I would hate for you and Kershka to lose your first." Osgard said.
I nodded. "Yes. I'm a little excited."
"I'm guessing Kershka doesn't know yet. How will you tell him?" Osgard asked.
"Well, if we finish today properly, we'll get there when Kershka will be in the apartment we're borrowing in Hearthstone." I said.
"Then I suppose we should make sure we get this done right." Osgard said.
"I do wish the nausea would pass." I said, finishing up cooking and plating his meal. "We can stay in Hearthstone tonight if you'd like."
"I can go with you to the entrance, but I will stay outside." Osgard said.
"Oh, right. Nisri is preparing some flowers for you, to teach you to garden with." I said, offering him his meal.
"Your Giantess cousin, yes? That sounds like it will be an interesting time." Osgard said. Starting to eat.
"She doesn't care that you're an Oni." I said.
"I wish I could understand where all the people who suddenly don't care what I am came from. I've been hunted so many times by the very people I save, chased from towns before I could plead my case, I woke up to a dagger being plunged into to me because they wanted my horns for a trophy..... I just wish I could have came across these people sooner." Osgard said.
I could hear the pain in his voice from it. "I am sorry for your experiences. All Giants are treated poorly to my knowledge. Even a lot of my and Nisri's family were killed because they were giants."
"One day we won't be killed for existence, but for our actions." He chuckled a little.
"Are you looking forward to meeting Nisri?" I asked.
"I believe I am, yes. I'm going to have to take my cloak off, though. That's still a little nerve wracking." Osgard said.
"I'll defend you." I said.
"Thank you." Osgard said as we finished our breakfast.
We got up and packed camp before getting to work. About midday a person attacked us. Well, attacked me. I'd just mentioned something didn't feel right, when I triggered a magic portal and heard a whishing noise at head level. I barely blocked it in time, but the next attack blew me backwards. I heard Osgard keeping them away.
But somehow, I found a hole and fell down it with a scream. And kept falling. I curled into a ball and did my best to keep myself safe. When I finally stopped moving, I fainted. I woke hearing breathing, and a scrabbling noise. It was a very dark area that smelled horrendous. I summoned Biri, then. I needed her with me. She helped me up, and lit up the area. Large rats were around. The scrabbling sound.
Biri set them on fire without a care, and eyed someone who I couldn't see. I borrowed her sight, seeing it was Osgard. He'd been defending against all sorts of rats and large bugs. "It's ok, Biri. Osgard's safe."
"Oh, good you're up. I'm glad she's with you and not another thing to defend against." Osgard said.
"You aren't invisible to a dragon's eyes." I told him, before retching. "Urgh. Where are we?"
He pulled his hood lower. "We seem to be in some kind of tunnel. I haven't been in this one before."
"I should be able to use the Port Key to get back up top... No, better not. Biri, you'll use it, yeah? We'll go to Hearthstone." I asked. Biri held out her hand for it.
"If you're teleporting out of here, I'll see you at Hearthstone. I will try to be there with one of these people to answer some questions." Osgard said.
"In that case, should we just go where we last were?" I asked.
"No, you should get to safety." Osgard said.
"Then, how about Biri takes me to Kershka, and comes back to help you?" I asked.
"Alright, that will work, now off you go." Osgard said.
I nodded and gave Biri the Port Key. She used it to take us to Dueling Rivers, most specifically by the tree at Bibs' house. I could see now that I was scraped and bruised, and noted I was still nauseous.
"Vern? Biri?" Kershka said, then he looked at us, "What happened?"
"Biri, will you go back? Help apprehend the people." I said to her, she nodded and used the Key to go. I turned to the concerned Kershka. "Osgard and I were attacked midday. I fell down a hole."
Kershka had come up to me, "Are you ok? Any major wounds?"
"I don't know yet. I need to go see a cleric." I said, "Is Ai well?"
He lit up and said, "Oh, yeah. Aiko."
Shaska came down with a pale, fluffy pink haired toddler with bright blue eyes riding her back. She was utterly adorable. As her species tended to be. More nausea hit, and I tried to hide the gagging. When I recovered enough, I said, "Hey, baby Ai. I'm happy to see you."
She smiled and laughed. I picked Aiko up, petting Shaska, then looked at Kershka, "Would the church or Hearthstone be better to see a cleric?"
"Hearthstone has good clerics. And other people." Kershka said.
I nodded. "Ok. I need to be checked. If not, and I am pregnant, I could lose the baby from the fall."
His expression went from pure joy to horror. "I take you to Hearthstone." He then picked me and Aiko up and started moving.
He got us to Hearthstone quickly. I was probably a bit paler than was typical due to the nausea. He took us to the medical hall and immediately we were approached by a black haired man.
"What happened? Who is this?" The man asked Kershka.
"I am Vern. I was attacked and fell down a steep hole. I might be pregnant. Please save it if I am." I said, I could smell herbs on the man in clerics garb.
"I will do everything in my power to treat you, and if you are pregnant, the child. Kershka, come set her down in the bed." The man said.
Kershka obeyed him, and a white haired woman approached. "If you'll use the divination on her, I'll heal her wounds." The woman said.
"Alright, that will give us a clearer picture on what we're needing to do." The man said.
I closed my eyes and let them do their work. Healing on me was simple. It was found that I was indeed pregnant, but with it being so early, the fall had indeed put the pregnancy in jeopardy. The cleric, Plight, was unsure what to do.
"Do you have any ideas on how to help, Nia? Unfortunately, this is not my area of expertise." Plight said to the woman.
"Unfortunately, it will be in the hands of the gods." Nia said. "If you'll contact Isarial for me, I'll have him send me someplace where I can get a mythical herb."
"He may not like it, but we could always ask his dad, if it's in the hands of the gods." Plight said.
I petted Aiko's hair. She was watching everything going on. Nia then said, "For now, I must insist on bed rest for at least a week. No sex. Drink tea made of Eldaas and red raspberry leaves at least three times a day."
"I can do tea." Kershka said.
I smiled a little. I was going to make a comment, but Adelaide came into the room. She came to me immediately. "Are you ok?"
"I am. But my baby isn't yet. I was attacked, a man named Osgard is going after the attacker with Biri. The person caused me to fall down a hole." I explained.
"You're pregnant?" She asked. "Congratulations," She looked at Plight, "And what are we doing to help?"
"Bed rest, tea. That's all we can do for early babies.. but if I can get Isarial to take me a certain place, there is an herb that can restore life to an elf. It's not really known much about, but I believe it will be more helpful than most gods." Nia said.
"Ok. Where is it? How do we get our hands on it?" Adelaide asked.
"Are you referring to the Oiolosse herb?" I asked.
"Yes. I am surprised you know of it." Nia said.
"It's in the realm of the dead." I said.
"Well, that's a little difficult to get to." Adelaide said.
"It's not unattainable for myself." Nia said.
"Does that mean I can go and get it?" Plight asked.
"Yes. Though it may be painful for you." Nia said.
"Undead?" I asked quietly.
"Only a little." Kershka said as quietly.
"A little pain is an easy trade to save a life." Plight said.
"But unnecessary, when it shouldn't hurt me." Nia said.
"So you're saying this is a perfectly safe thing for you to do?" Plight asked.
"It's not. If any of the legends are true, even undead can get lost there. The miasma clouds intent. A wizard called Traxigor wrote bout it at length." I said.
"It's not a guarantee to be unsafe." Nia replied.
"It's not a necessary gamble if tea and rest will do the trick." I said. "Unless you are saying it is more dire than you said."
"How serious is it truly?" Kershka asked.
"Bed rest and tea will be plenty. This is a last resort kind of discussion. It should by no means be necessary." Plight said firmly.
"I sh.. Biri said they have him. Astral hired him to assassinate me." I said.
Kershka stood up, then sat back down. "I want to go.. find and hurt him. But I also do not.. want to leave you."
"... Biri is going to help Osgard take the man to Tilton." I said.
"Ah. Then Tilton will find him. Then hopefully bring him to me. But probably not." Kershka said.
I communicated with Biri about what Plight and Nia said, and that I was pregnant, and asked her to relay to Tilton properly on the matter. She grumped a little, but knowing she's a dragon now, I knew she chose to not speak. She said she let Osgard know bout the confirmation. Without anything else for the healers to do, Kershka carried Aiko and I to the apartment we were staying in.
He laid me in bed. "I will tell Tilton that you need rest until... everything.. is better."
"It is alright, Hjerte. Biri is speaking to Tilton for me. I am sorry this happened and that our baby is in danger." I replied.
"This is not your fault. And everything will be fine." Kershka said.
"Osgard and I were going to stop in tonight and get me checked. My breasts have been sore, I've been nauseous and so tired." I told him.
"Ah. That would make sense." Kershka said.
I nodded. Though I was still beating myself up over it. I placed my hand over where our baby was growing. "I hate the no sex part."
He chuckled, "We will be fine. Just means when you are better, we will catch up."