The room rang with silence in the aftermath of my Oath. For some reason, I felt a tremendous surge of energy coursing through my body in the wake of it. Nothing real and substantial, of course.

  It felt more like…conviction.

  Finally, I heard Wenzel breathe in above me. “A worthy Oath,” He said quietly. A moment later, I felt the tip of his sword touch me first on my left shoulder, and then my right. “Rise, Sir Nathaniel Eugene Hart. Calamity Slayer. Chain breaker. Rise, and take your place among the Knighthood of Herztal.”

  Slowly, I opened my eyes and leveraged myself up using my spear. I met Wenzel’s gaze as I collapsed the weapon and returned it to its sheath. “Is that enough for you?”

  The Regent Lord of Herztal inclined his head to me. “It is. Now, to finish the background of your Knighthood, you shall require a parcel of land and a home upon it. However, I have no intention of gifting an existing settlement to you as a gift. It would not be…politically advantageous to send you from the capital.”

  I allowed myself to relax somewhat. “Good,” I said shortly. “I myself have no interest in such a thing. What’s your offer, then?”

  After all, I still needed to find a place for Aveline and me to live. Part of me was reluctant to accept outright gifts from Wenzel. On the surface, it would place me in his debt, and I was loath to be in anyone’s debt right now. However…that was just the surface. Something I was coming to understand about noble and political games was that it was all about a careful balance of give and take. If I accepted a gift of land from the man, it would give him further confidence in me and my continued support for his reign, and through me, Grey as well. My mentor was turning out to be very politically agnostic for such a powerful man in Herztalian society, perfectly okay with allowing me to wield his influence, if only indirectly. It was kind of him, considering just how much of an advantage it gave me.

  It…might be uncharitable of me, but if Grey operated like that politically, it wasn’t hard to see how the situation with the Sculpted spiraled in the way it did.

  It was best to avoid a repeat.

  A glint in Wenzel’s eye told me that we had an understanding. He reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out a new scroll, handing it to me. “I have here a number of different residences that were either abandoned over the course of the war, or surrendered to the crown when their owners were…lost. You may inspect them at your leisure, and the crown will transfer the deed to the abode, as well as the surrounding land, into your ownership to do with as you wish. Simply contact my office, and it will be done once you have come to a decision. All of them, of course, are in and around the vicinity of Blutstein.”

  “Naturally,” I deadpanned to the man, shaking my head slightly. Still, I accepted the scroll and unrolled it to take a quick glance over the options. It looked to me like about half a dozen of them, all with accompanying addresses and vague location descriptions. I’d probably need the help of a local to track these down, with my own unfamiliarity with the city.

  Luckily, I knew a few of those.

  I rolled the scroll up, inclining my head to Wenzel. “Thank you, Regent Lord. I shall inspect the residences and choose the most suitable option. Was there anything else you required?”

  Wenzel took the implied dismissal with good grace, which I was grateful for. I was finding the man to be far more pragmatic and straightforward than I’d ever thought a noble would be. “No, that shall be all. My retinue and I shall be leaving now. Sir Hart, Headmaster,” He said, inclining his head to Grey. My mentor returned it. “I bid you farewell.”

  With that, the current ruler of Herztal hopped off the dais he was on and strode out of the chapel.

  Leaving Grey and I alone together.

  He approached me where I still stood, standing before the pulpit of the small chapel he likely only possessed for ceremonial purposes like these. We stood quietly for a moment, simply staring up at the green and gold-stained glass window, through which the evening light of Tarus streamed. I don’t know about him, but I was busy contemplating just how quickly things could really change at a moment's notice. Maybe he was doing the same.

  Grey was the one to break the silence. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Nathan,” He said quietly. “There is…a reason I refrain from engaging in such political games. Despite my own accomplishments, I always politely declined a Knighthood of my own. Eventually, the offers escalated to full-on nobility. Still, I turned them down. And do you know why?”

  I let my eyes fall from the stained glass to rest on the older man. “Why?”

  “Because they’ll always want more from you than you’re willing to give,” Grey said, a small, distasteful frown on his lips.

  I hummed, nodding slightly. “You’re right. They will. But…do you know the solution to that?” I said, with a small, humorless smile on my lips.

  “You take more from them than they offer.”

  ………………………….

  We didn’t linger in the chapel much longer than that. Grey had business to see to involving the new semester, while I wanted to check in with Aveline, Fade, and Azarus. All three of them were happy to see me, and I took the time to play fetch with both my ward and my Familiar. I even dragged my best friend in the mix eventually, after Rachel stepped briefly and tossed a small leather ball our way with a tolerant smile. We played catch in a circle for a time, something that Aveline seemed to enjoy far more than I was expecting her to. Eventually, though, she tuckered herself out. I picked her up, and over her sleepy protestations, followed Rachel into the house and laid Aveline down for a brief nap before dinner.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Once I was done, however, I stepped back outside to chat with Azarus. He greeted me with a nod from back on his reclining chair, and I joined him. Wordlessly, I pulled out the small sheet of parchment I still had on me with my classes listed on it and handed it to the dwarf. He accepted it with a grunt, opened it, and quickly glanced over my schedule.

  Azarus snorted at something. “Only thing we’ve got together is History.” He said, handing me back the parchment.

  I shrugged and accepted it. “Oh well. Can’t do anything about you being a Cultivator. It was bound to happen." I smiled, then, turning around in my chair to look behind me. “And you, Liora?”

  The female Gnoll froze not far from me, one clawed hand stopped in midair before it could lay itself on my shoulder. A consternated look crossed her muzzle, then, as I finally managed to catch her in the act before she could startle me.

  I didn’t tell it was before my ability with my blood sense had increased, and I had a larger range now. I’d briefly felt her pop in at the extent of my range before popping out, and roughly timed my greeting. I hadn’t figured out how she was dodging it, and she’d likely figure that out before long. No doubt my fellow former Agent would get back to startling me soon.

  But I’d enjoy my very minor victory for now.

  Liora sighed and plucked my schedule out of my open hand irritably. After quickly scanning it, she handed the parchment back with a small smile. “We shall share Alchemy together it seems.”

  “And I…” Renauld said, popping up from behind Liora to look over her shoulder. “Actually have something with you.”

  I raised an eyebrow at the other Gnoll. “Not Healing, right? You’ve got to be beyond the Neophyte course.”

  “Nah, not that,” Renauld said, shaking his head. He put a single dramatic hand against his furry forehead and swooned in place. “Unfortunately, I didn’t get into all of the Minors that I wanted. So…”

  I laughed, interrupting him. “You got stuck with Aetheric Synthesis, too!”

  “Yup,” Renauld replied, popping the last syllable. He shook his head. “I think I’ve seen this Veyl guy around a few times, and he didn’t exactly strike me as the…most stable of individuals, if you catch my drift. It’s gonna be an interesting semester.”

  “I look forward to suffering through the experiment with you,” I said, amused despite myself. “So, did you two just get back? What were you up to?”

  To my surprise, Liora and Renauld both looked at each other for a moment, almost looking to be having a silent conversation. After a moment, Liora turned back to me with an apologetic look. “Ah…we cannot say what exactly. Suffice to say that we had…business, with the Throng representatives in the city.”

  My eyebrows shot up, and I mimicked them as I sat straighter in sudden interest. “Wait. The Throng is here?”

  The Throne was, to the best of my understanding, the nomadic procession of the Gnollish people here on Vereden. Their species had been left and abandoned by the ‘gods’ in the aftermath of the War in Heaven, and they had banded together for survival. The Gnolls disdained the ownership of land in general and chose to instead wander the land to and fro in a huge kind of caravan.

  Only, it was the single largest caravan on the face of the planet. Like, hundreds and hundreds of huge wagons, carriages, and vehicles larger than that. Essentially mobile houses on heavily enchanted wheels. The result was that they belonged to no nation, and thus asked for permission from governments to travel the land. The Gnolls, in general, were extremely protective of the Throng to my understanding. They got extremely tight-lipped at any mention of it.

  Sure enough, to my disappointment, both Liora and Renauld clammed up. “Nnnno, not really,” Renauld said carefully. “But the leaders sent some envoys for the coronation that was supposed to happen. Only, they’re leaving now that nothing is actually happening. But, uh…”

  “We needed to discuss a few things with them, that’s all,” Liora interrupted, shooting the other Gnoll a sharp look. He held up his hands in surrender, looking genuinely abashed. Liora turned back to me with a short shake of her head and continued. “However, we’ve decided on something as a result. I’ve found a new apartment out in the middle layer, and Renauld shall be moving in with me and out of the dorms. We came to tell you that we will be settling into the new domicile and ceasing our stay here with the Headmaster.”

  I blinked at them in utter confusion, and I noticed that Azarus was doing the same.

  That was…odd, to say the least. Liora and Renauld were the last two people I would have expected to move in together. To the best of my knowledge, the two of them weren’t together in any meaningful capacity. In fact, they mostly seemed to tolerate each other. They didn’t hate each other and were perfectly cordial. But there was exactly zero romantic tension between them.

  That wasn’t even considering Liora’s personal preference for more…feminine company, to be polite.

  You picked these things up.

  Still, it wasn’t my place to comment on it. Azarus and I wished the two Gnolls good luck, and after they said their goodbyes to Aveline, departed for their new ‘domicile’.

  Azarus scratched his beard at the furry, retreating backs of our comrades. “Damned odd.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” I said, turning a suddenly interested gaze on my oldest friend here on Vereden. I’d just had a thought after the strange conversation. “Hey, what are your living plans? Are you just going to keep staying here at Draymoor?”

  Startled, Azarus turned to look at me. “Ah…nope,” He said with a shrug. “I’m just gonna bum it out in the dorms. Can't mooch off of Gray forever. I…can’t find that friend I was talkin’ about, so I’ll just, ya know. Live the bachelor life, I suppose.”

  I was quiet for a moment. “I’m…going to be looking around at some properties soon, for Aveline and me. They’re supposed to be some old Knightly homes left behind after the war. I…imagine there’ll be plenty of room.” I took a deep breath. “You…could stay with us, if you want.”

  I don’t think it was possible to stun Azarus more than I just had. He opened and closed his mouth for a few moments, mimicking a fish out of water. “Nate…I…”

  He seemed genuinely lost at the offer.

  I just smiled at him. “When I was at my absolute lowest, Azarus, you stretched out a hand and saved my life. You took me into the home that you built with your own two hands, and it’s thanks to you that I wasn’t thrown into the grinder of the plantations. I know,” I said, holding up a hand to stop his protestations. “I know you’ve said we’re square, and I get that. I really do. But…I still want to help you, the way you helped me. Live with us, Azarus. Even if only for a while.”

  Azarus looked away, then. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I saw a sheen of water in his metallic gaze. “I’d like that,” He eventually said quietly, and I just nodded placidly at the acceptance.

  This was right. This was good.

  After a few minutes of companionable silence, Azarus laughed and shook his head. If that laugh was a bit wobbly, I pretended I didn’t notice. “Can’t believe a Humie like you treats me better than me own family ever did.”

  I snorted a humorless laugh and reached out to punch him in his shoulder. It honestly felt like punching a steel wall, but I didn’t let that show on my face. “Sometimes, it’s the family you choose that matters more than the family you’re born with.”

  Azarus spared me a glance, then, and nodded. “Damn straight.”

  He held out a fist, and I bumped mine against the knuckles of my brother in all but blood.