Gordon found himself staring out the window, curious to see the thrall’s next source of information. He was surprised that they moved further and further away from the center of the city. The opulent manors were replaced by the two-story homes owned by more successful craftsmen and eventually by the run-down huts common to most peasant families. If it were anyone else, he’d question what information she thought she could gather from laborers. Now, he only closed the shutters of the window and waited to see her next scheme.

Minutes later, the carriage rolled to a stop. “Time to go, Junior,” she said cheerily.

He stepped down from the carriage and looked around. The building in front of him was nicer than its neighbors but that wasn’t saying much. All of them looked they had been cobbled together with little planning using whatever was lying around. Its ‘windows’ were holes in the walls covered by sheets of fabric and its roof slanted to one side, but the people inside didn’t seem to mind the fact that the building appeared to be one mild breeze away from collapsing on top of them. Gordon could hear the revelry from the road.

His fine clothing and carriage stood out, the few people on the street eying him warily. Wondering to themselves if the potential benefits of robbing him were worth the risks. Luckily for them, their fear of the highborn outweighed their greed and they decided to quicken their steps, doing all they could to avoid him.

The exceptions were the women standing in front of the building. They were more than excited at the sight of a man with money and raised a ruckus as they called out to him. Gordon grimaced as one of the more endowed women pulled out a breast from her thin dress and jostled it. “A brothel?” he whispered. “If you wanted to get laid, there are better ways. And places.”

[But this is where we need to be. Inside, Junior.]

Reluctantly, he headed for the open door, restraining his reaction as the women ran their hands over him. Inside was a haze of smoky incense, perfume, and naked bodies. He spotted a man in expensive robes headed toward him but the man’s gaze found Fen and his smile froze. I suppose you’ve been here.

[My kin have reached an understanding with the owner. We keep the guards away and educate his ladies on how to draw in business. He ignores our presence in his establishment and assists our efforts when called upon. A brothel is a very good place to conduct clandestine business of all sorts. It naturally draws the kind of people we want and provides a believable excuse should anyone come asking questions. That way, up the stairs.]

He followed her direction. The second floor contained the rooms where the employees serviced their customers, which he could tell from the noise coming from inside them. Mental prodding carried him to the end of the hall and he opened the last door on the right.

Inside the cramped space was a single bed covered in dingy, stained sheets. A thrall with brick red skin and curly, dark hair lounged on her side, eating from a tray of fruit. Her purple eyes looked up as they entered and she smiled, flashing a mouthful of dangerously sharp teeth.

“Fen!” she called excitedly, tail whipping excitedly. “And Junior. What a pleasant surprise~”

When Gordon hesitated to enter, Fen pushed him inside and closed the door firmly behind her. “Sit,” she ordered and before he could feel indignation at the order, he was on the ground, his body having moved to her will. He wanted to curse the thrall but his mouth refused to speak.

“Benedial.” Fen climbed onto to the bed, pushing the other thrall onto her back. She took a moment to smile at Gordon before pressing their bodies together, their tails twining. He swallowed at the sight, hating that despite knowing her game, he fell for it every time. “I hope you brought me good news, Benny.”

“Of course~ The prince can’t help talking to his favorite maid.”

Maid? How did she get employed in the castle? An interrogator would have investigated her.

“That’s easy, Junior,” Benny said, turning towards him. A pounding in his head forced him to shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the thrall was replaced by an obsidian woman with lava pools for eyes and a crown of black horns.

A virtue.

“Correct~”

But how?! Belolial was the only virtue summoned by the family in the last century. You can’t—

“Did you know?” Benny said, interrupting his train of thought. “The Guardian of Dimensions that facilitates travel between realms is a stickler for the rules but only the letter of the law, so to speak. Contracts between a summoner and an elemental must be agreed upon by both parties under their own power. However, that’s the extent of it. There’s nothing to stop an enterprising thrall from, say, threatening to kill a man’s entire family if he doesn’t contract a virtue with no restrictions.”

Gordon stared in growing horror as the impact of her words dawned on him. You…

“Let’s just say there are a lot more of us in Harvest than there used to be.”

“Don’t worry, Junior,” Fen said, smiling sweetly. “You won’t have to contemplate the inevitability of your species being overthrown for very long. By tomorrow, you’ll have forgotten about Benny and that little detail.” She laughed, knowing her words only increased his panic. “Now, on to business. What news?”

“Mm. It’s been confirmed. The goblinoid hordes will once again grace the shores of the human continent.”

Gordon would have jumped up if his body was listening to him. Goblinoids? Is there going to be a repeat of the Great War?

“No, silly boy. Green Mountain is an island. That means limited space. After centuries of peace, they have outgrown it. As such, a few tribes are sailing the seas in search of a new home. Humans are the easiest targets so they’re going to try their luck here.”

What do you mean we’re the easiest targets?

“Who else are they going to attack? The three closest landmasses are the human continent, the elven continent, and the dragon isles. Humans, elves, or dragons. Who would you attack?”

Gordon grimaced.

“Exactly~ Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s only a couple hundred thousand I’d assume. Hardly worth the fuss.”

“To a kingdom that has not faced serious war in hundreds of years, it must be a terrifying prospect,” Fen said. “The true question is how this affect the political battlefield. The Guiness family’s trade partners are about to wage war. That cannot be good for the Expansionist faction.”

“Oh, the king is doing his best to paint the doves as traitors but it’s kind of hard when he can’t make direct moves. After all, they’re bankrolling this war, haha. How hilarious is that? I love humans.”

“Have they changed their stance on trading with Green Mountain?”

“They’ve suspended their convoys for the time being but not at all. Have you ever had the opportunity to meet the greenies? War is a pastime to them. They kill each other daily. In most of their tribes, you’re not an adult until you’ve killed someone in battle. They don’t see this as anything serious. A tribe is going to attack us. To the victor goes the spoils and then we get on with life. Hardly a matter to stop the flow of gold.”

A pastime. Don’t they care that their people are going to die?

“Junior, honey, there are a lot of them. And I mean, a lot. Let’s take goblins for example. One male and female goblin going at it non-stop can have two to four kids a pop, every four months. The average family has over twenty kids, in one household. The whole extended clan with uncles, aunts, and cousins?” She waved. “If they didn’t engage in blood sports and war daily, they’d drown in their own piss and shit. And that’s one of the goblinoid races. Their culture is just nature’s way of balancing things out.”

Fuck.

“An apt way to describe the situation.” Fen chuckled. “If I didn’t know better, I would say the world was conspiring against humanity. There is an impending invasion right as the duke of Victory is readying to send many of the strongest fighters in the kingdom to their deaths in the Bleak Peaks. Has the king not sent missives to the fort?”

“Oh, you won’t believe this. The king told the duke to hold off on the campaign and do you know what he said? He basically told him to fuck off!”

“No, really?”

“Really, really! The duke has his pants in a twist because the king has done his absolute best to weaken the James family but now wants the duke to ride to his rescue. So the duke told him that Victory was built to handle the threats within the Bleak Peaks and that the royal army could handle a bunch of goblins. Which, point, is true.”

“Fort Victory was indeed built to handle the threats beyond the mountains. Also, their forces are much smaller in number as opposed to the army, and that is before any conscription. The problem is that the army isn’t used to dealing with large scale threats. Most of the soldiers will be out of their depth. I doubt they have trained as hard as the knights of Victory who risk their lives constantly. In that sense, the invasion could be good for the kingdom. Remind them that they’re not entirely safe in their little corner of the world.”

“Yeah, but the king is damn near pissing himself because he doesn’t believe the Guiness family’s evaluation of the situation and is convinced the whole of Green Mountain is about to march on the kingdom.” She leaned up, pressing her lips against Fen’s ear, though she made no attempts to whisper. “I heard he’s started losing his hair!” She dropped to the bed, giggling.

“That explains his zeal in procuring allies and haste to squash any lingering internal threats.”

“Oh yeah. That’s what the whole diplomatic mission to Aggro is about. He’s hoping he can convince the glorious bastard to fight alongside him if the goblins do invade full force. And his utter debacle with our elven mistress, of course. Haha, I laughed so hard when I heard about that. Can you imagine? Giving her a piece of her god like it’s a commodity. I mean, for some, that would have been great, but he chose the wrong target. I mean, how difficult would it have been to investigate a little? Or outright ask her what she wanted to form an alliance?”

“I assume he didn’t want to present as weak to the elves and risk, what, another invasion?”

“Haha, yeah! How stupid is that? If the elves wanted this land, they’d come over here and take it.”

“The king isn’t aware of their strength or culture. Therefore, he could only operate based on his knowledge of human nature. A noble or rival king would absolutely strike if they sensed weakness. Ah. Do you think he took the presence of Kierra to be something as a scout? An agent to assess the strength of the human kingdom?”

“That’s what the first prince thinks. They really can’t wrap their heads around a woman marrying another woman for love. Easier for them to accept that Lou was a convenient excuse to get somebody in the kingdom to gather information.”

“Which would make him all the more hesitant to go to them begging for an alliance. So, with incomplete information, he decides to ingratiate them by offering what he believes to be a valuable relic or resource. Only to deliver a peerless insult. How unfortunate.” Despite her words, Fen’s laughter held no sympathy.

“Yeah, yeah. And his whole plan to squash internal threats is not going to work out. I mean, those summoners weren’t even doing anything but now that they think the crown is targeting them, I’d bet anything that they’re going to do something extreme.”

“Ah, well, the crown may catch a lucky break. Junior and I are going to have a look at this group. See what they have to say for themselves. If it is something detrimental to the plan—"

“Ooo, a hunt. I haven’t gotten a good meal since I’ve gotten here.” Benny licked her lips. “Do you think we can keep some of them? Better to drain a few of them slowly than draw attention snatching peasants that aren’t even worth the effort.”

“We’ll see.”