Chapter 4 - Two's Company
A harrowed-looking Zigferd answered the door when SJ knocked. She had called to see if Isavil would drop off the clothes she had asked for. SJ had produced two silk dresses in the design Isavail had requested, as well as a beautiful blouse. Even though Isavil could have visited the tailor shop, she had wished for SJ to make them for her.
Since SJ now owned the tailor shop after Nexis's administrative leave, she didn't have time to run it herself, so she had advertised the position. She knew that many in Killic weren't very highly skilled in tailoring, so she had gone to Asterfal to do so.
An elf maiden named Liola had applied for the role, and after SJ interviewed her, she discovered that Liola was of a much higher skill level than she was. Being a Journeyman level 23. It had cost SJ more than she had planned to spend on wages, but after reviewing the tailoring shop ledger and the profit margins on general goods, she decided that a slight profit reduction was worth the higher professional level.
Liola had been in Killic for eight months now and had become a minor celebrity, particularly among many of the youngblooded males. There had been a significant increase in the purchase of male garments, which SJ could only put down to her presence. Liola was also able to match many of the dwarves when it came to drinking and could be found in the Hogling Arms most evenings.
There was also an ulterior motive in SJ visiting Zigferd, to try and identify the mysterious guest who had arrived.
"Hi Zigferd," SJ said. "Are you alright?" after seeing his expression.
"Err... Yes, yes, I'm fine. Am I needed?" His reply was anything but the confident one she would have expected.
"No, and you look anything but alright. What's going on?"
Zigferd forced a smile. "I'm fine, I promise, and it's nothing to worry about." His face again told a different story. "What did you need?"
"I came to see Isavil to drop off her dresses and check that the sizing is okay for her."
"Oh. Erm, I don't think she is available at the moment. Could you perhaps come back tomorrow?"
SJ frowned. "Tomorrow?" She said, placing her hands on her hips. "If you don't tell me what's going on, Zigferd Maxwell, I'll contact Petunia."
Zigferd's eyes shot open, and sweat beaded on his brow. "No, don't do that." His reaction was almost childlike. The dread of his surrogate mother discovering how he was acting was more fear-inducing than anything else.
SJ was getting more than a little concerned seeing the big man so unbalanced. She had never seen him like this before.
SJ just stared at him.
His shoulders dropped, and he stepped out of the front door quietly, pulling it behind him.
"What I'm about to tell you has to remain a secret," Zigferd whispered, leaning forward.
This was getting curiouser and curiouser, and SJ was now intrigued. "What is it?" SJ said, leaning in conspiratorially.
Zigferd mumbled a reply.
"I can't hear what you're saying."
"I'm going to be a father," Zigferd hissed, trying to whisper louder.
SJ's face contorted in confusion as she processed what Zigferd had just said.
"WHAT?" SJ eventually shouted as it sank in, then, remembering that Zigferd had been whispering, continued with a beaming grin. "Congratulations," in a quieter voice.
"Thanks, I think," Zigferd said, flushing.
"What do you mean, you think? That's amazing news; you will make a wonderful father."
"Really?" Zigferd said, genuinely shocked by SJ's response.
"Yes. Why wouldn't you? Just look at the amazing job you have done bringing Alice up, never mind what you have done for everyone else, including me. You have such a soft heart and gentle hand that you will be perfect."
Zigferd turned an even deeper shade of red. "I don't know if I will. I have no idea what being a father means."
"Do any new fathers or mothers, for that matter? Everyone learns."
"Yes, but I'm so busy, I don't have time to do half of what I want, never mind bring up children."
SJ shook her head in disbelief at this strong-willed and stoic being, who was now behaving like a child. This was how he reacted when Petunia dealt with him, and SJ could sympathise with why he didn't want to let Petunia know until he had processed the information himself.
"When did you find out?"
"Isavil has suspected for the past six months, but elven pregnancies aren't like those of many beings. They usually last three years, some even longer. The matriarch from the local elven village is currently with her."
"How is Isavil?"
"Over the moon. She had been hoping to fall pregnant."
"That's amazing news then, especially if she was hoping to fall pregnant."
"Yes, I know, but I had always thought if it happens, it happens, but now that it has!" Zigferd wiped his brow.
SJ grinned and threw her arms around him, giving him a hug. "I'm so happy for you. We have little Balle and, well, in the near future, some more bundles of fun to join our family. Perhaps Alice and Darren may be next?"
Zigferd just looked at SJ, not replying for several moments before he spoke. "Maybe you'll be next?"
SJ started to cough. "That's not going to happen."
She had thought about children or faelings as they were known, but had not even kissed another being since arriving in Amathera.
"I wonder if they will come out all hairy like Zigferd?" Dave said.
SJ snorted, which made Zigferd frown. "What?" he asked.
"Oh, Dave just congratulated you," SJ chuckled.
"Your reaction doesn't seem to be one of congratulations."
"He does, I promise," SJ replied. "Don't you, Dave?" Then started nodding her head as if he had responded, which he hadn't because he was too busy laughing at his own comment about miniature wereelves. SJ had no idea, even if that was a thing.
"Zigferd?" Isavil called from inside.
Zigferd opened the door again. "I'll be right there. SJ has just dropped your dresses off."
"SJ, tell her to come in."
"Are you sure?" Zigferd asked.
"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"
SJ pushed past Zigferd and walked in, leaving the big man flummoxed on his doorstep.
SJ found Isavil sitting in the front room, with a rather stately-looking elf.
"SJ. This is Madam Grunhilda. She is the matriarch of the local village. Did Zigferd tell you?" Isavil grinned.
SJ couldn't help but run over to her and give her a huge hug. "He did. I'm so happy for you."
SJ felt wet on her own cheeks as Isavil cried with joy. "Thank you. I can't believe I'm having twins."
SJ again let the comment sink in before she pushed back, her eyes wide as saucers now as well. "TWINS!"
"Yes, twins," Isavil grinned.
Madam Grunhilda smiled as SJ turned and looked at her, repeating the word "Twins." Then, turning back to look at Isavil. "That's amazing news!"
"Yes. I'm not sure Zigferd is coping very well with the news," Isavil said. Zigferd hadn't followed SJ into the room.
"Zigferd," SJ bellowed. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Zigferd's head appeared around the front room door. "Tell you what?"
"Twins!"
"Oh. I didn't think." He genuinely looked confused.
"You didn't think? How could something as amazing as that slip your mind?"
The big man just shrugged, looking anything but the leader of the town. SJ just shook her head in response, smiling, as she realised how out of his depth he really was. Or the fact that it hadn't even sunk in yet what the word twins actually meant.
"Well, you will have Auntie SJ to help with them," SJ beamed.
Isavil cried more tears of joy as they hugged again.
"Right, the reason for the visit. I have your dresses," SJ said as she removed them from her inventory and handed the soft, silken clothes to Isavil.
Isavil took them with a smile. "I'd better go and try them on. I need to make the most of them before I start to grow."
"I'll come with you to check if they need adjustments," SJ said.
It wasn't much later that the pair arrived back downstairs. The dresses had fit perfectly, and Isavil had even kept one of them on.
"What do you think?" Isavil said, spinning, showing Zigferd, who had been chatting to Grunhilda.
Zigferd smiled in response. "Very nice, dear."
Isavil just rolled her eyes. "He has no idea when it comes to clothes."
Two hours later, SJ left. The Matriarch would stay overnight and then return to the village. She apparently did the rounds of the various local villages, confirming all elven pregnancies. SJ knew nothing of the elven pregnancy cycle beyond the duration Zigferd had mentioned and would have to use the Legionnarious to research it.
'Well, that was the best news I could have had today,' SJ thought as she walked down through the docks. She had been watching Kibble's dot on her display, and he was still showing near Setu's. He had been there for hours now. It wasn't the first time he had done it, and she bet that he was probably playing with Setu's sproglings, which he had done several times before.
SJ crossed the bridge to the island, and as she approached Setu's, she saw Kibble happily perched on the bow of Setu's fishing boat at the jetty.
"Kibble, where do you think you have been?" SJ called.
He squeaked in surprise, not having noticed that SJ was approaching.
"Nowhere," Kibble squeaked in reply.
On the edge of the dock where he was perched were the remnants of several large fish.
"You won't need feeding later," SJ said with her hands on her hips.
"That was lunch," Kibble snarked back. "You never fed me."
"You don't normally eat at lunchtime, so don't try that one with me. Now come on, you need to leave Setu in peace."
Setu was sitting on the jetty repairing one of his nets.
"He's been fine," Setu said, smiling. "It's nice having company. Not that I think he cares as long as I chuck him a fish every once in a while."
"You do realise he would eat you out of house and home if he got the chance?" SJ said.
"I don't eat that much," Kibble objected.
"Really?" SJ scoffed. "I'm surprised you can take off some days."
Setu chuckled as SJ scooped up Kibble, who hadn't even attempted to move. She could feel the bulge in his belly where he had eaten way too many fish than he should have.
"You're going to get fat eating that much," SJ scolded Kibble.
"I was hungry," Kibble moaned as SJ placed him on her shoulder. He wasn't heavy, but she could definitely feel the added weight from his afternoon activities.
"Are you at the Hogling Arms tonight to play cards?" SJ asked Setu. "I think Jay could do with the company if Luealla lets him out, of course."
Setu grinned. "Ha, I saw him this afternoon when he came to get some fish from Margu's stall. He does appear to be struggling. I'll see Gary, and we will call at the cottage. Luealla may let him out if we go together."
SJ chuckled at Setu's response. Luealla was a force to be reckoned with; she had to be to tame an orc like Jay, who had spent years in the gangs and fighting cages of Asterfal. She could imagine both Setu and Gary cowering, asking if Jay was allowed out to play.
"That would be nice," SJ said. "I may see you later. I'm going to see Fhyliss and see if she needs anything."
"No problem, and I don't know how you do it all. Owning the Wandering Og... sorry, the Wanderer's Rest and doing all your other duties. I struggle to keep the nets maintained as it is."
"Most of the town business is just working with numbers," SJ said.
"Exactly!" Setu scoffed.
SJ smiled. "Right, I'll catch you later," she said as she left the docks.
By the time SJ had reached the Wanderer's Rest, she had been accosted by several traders with issues around taxes from Asterfal. It was a daily occurrence that she was used to hearing about, and promised them she would confirm the details with Asterfal's trade representative next time she saw him. Communications were still not as good as SJ hoped for. She had made sure that her friends all had communication stones with her new wealth, but she wasn't willing to buy them for Asterfal's trade members, even if it would make her life easier.
She was planning to discuss a permanent link between Asterfal and Killic. After discussing the idea with Zigferd, he agreed that it would make things much easier. The plan, if the chancellor agreed, would be to establish a permanent office with a communication stone always available between the offices. In Killic, all the operations were carried out from the barracks, so they would only require a single stone. The difficulty would be Asterfal due to the sprawling administration offices in the tower. Getting all the offices and departments to agree on a single line would be a political nightmare, given some of the egos that ran them. There was the option of a multilink stone, with Killic as the primary, similar to the one she now owned that Nexis had left her. She was able to contact over forty different stones once the stones had been mana aligned, or whatever it was the air mages had to do to them. It had cost SJ a small fortune to get the stones she had given her friends connected to Nexis's stone. Each one used a different gem order to trigger the calls.
"Hey, Fhyliss," SJ said as she entered the office.
Fhyliss's head appeared from behind a book she had been reading.
"Hi, SJ. What do you need?"
"I was just checking in, see if you needed anything and also to confirm that the chancellor's accommodation is all confirmed for his visit?"
"Yes. The first floor is fully reserved. Do we know how many are coming with him yet?"
"When I spoke to Alice, she said to expect at least four other officials and then the accompanying guards; her guess was twenty total."
"The guards aren't staying here as well, are they?" Fhyliss asked, concerned.
"No. They will stay at the barracks in the sleeping area there."
"Oh, good. I was starting to panic a little then."
SJ smiled. "So, do you need anything?"
"The only thing we could do is to make some new sheets. There was an issue with the latest load that we sent for cleaning."
SJ frowned. "What issue?"
"There was a new cleaner at the store, and rather than pouring in the cleaning solution from the alchemists, she managed to mix the bottle up." Fhyliss pointed at a neatly piled stack of rather disgusting-looking sheets.
"What did she put in?"
"I have no idea. The store promised they were clean, but whatever it was dyed them all that colour."
"They look rancid. How much for new sets?"
"Well, I was thinking," Fhyliss had a twinkle in her eye as she said it, SJ knowing exactly where this was going. "You know, you mentioned before about making everything special for this place. Something unique. Why don't we use this as an opportunity for you to work your tailoring magic on them and add the lodgings' name as you mentioned previously?"
This conversation had been had a couple of times since SJ had come up with the idea of branding the lodging house items with the name, yet she had been putting it off. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that Fhyliss might have deliberately sabotaged the cleaning to get her to do it at last.
"Are you sure this was an accident?" SJ said.
Fhyliss held her hands up. "I promise, it had nothing to do with me," she grinned.
SJ narrowed her eyes. "It means I will have to go to Farleck to get them done. I already travelled today, so I wouldn't be able to start until tomorrow, and I don't know how long it will take. Maybe I can get them done at the shop."
"I'm sure whichever one you decide will be perfect," Fhyliss smirked.
"Hmpff. Have they been fed yet?" SJ asked.
"No, Jay said he would feed them, but I haven't seen him today."
"I'd better go do it then. Jay's hands are a little full at the moment," SJ chuckled.
"He did look a little fraught the last time I saw him," Fhyliss laughed.
SJ walked back from the office and to the rear door. The rear opened onto a large garden that had been constructed as private grounds for the guests' use. SJ walked along the gravel path that ran through the centre to the rear area. As soon as she opened the gate to the vast paddock, the twelve beasts came hurrying over.
The first to arrive was named Pop because it made a popping sound whenever it flicked its tongue out. The others all had different names, but the four original ones Aletheia had purified were still her favourites. They were Spike, due to his exceedingly spiky, frilled neck; Toeless, who had two toes missing on one of his front feet; and finally, there was Bash. Who, rather than gently nudge you, had the habit of knocking you over.
"Hi, guys," SJ said as she entered the paddock and offered her hand to Pop. It was still strange considering that these lizards were the same lizards that the draconian forces had ridden when attacking Killic. After Aletheia had cured their corruption, they were the most placid, yet exceedingly sharp-toothed lizards SJ knew. Toeless was the lizard that had initially run off into the woods, and after they had retaken Killic, they had managed to capture it, and then Aletheia had worked her magic for a better word to uncorrupt it, along with all the others that had been taken from the draconian forces.
Pop flicked its tongue out and licked SJ's hand. These once hostile beasts were now as much a part of Killic's patchwork family as any other.
"I guess you guys are hungry," she said as she walked across the paddock to the shed where the haunches were stored. The lizards eagerly followed her until she had removed several large hogling haunches from the store and given them out.
SJ stood, leaning on the paddock fence, as they ate eagerly. She still couldn't believe how much had changed, and Kibble started to snore in her ear. His obvious full belly making him sleepy. The sun was beginning to drop in the sky, and it would be the end of another beautiful day in Killic, one where she had received the most heart-warming news.
"Let's go eat," SJ said, deliberately nudging Kibble.
He groaned in her ear. "No more food."
"You'll just have to watch me then," SJ said as she left the paddock heading towards the Hogling Arms.
