Mythran's Master Of All

Ren let Nathalia's mother's hand go and she saw the change in Ren's face.

“What is it?” Narhilda asked.

Ren shook his head. She had enough to worry about without knowing he'd been given a fine. Narhilda looked at him for a moment more and once again told them to wait there. She left the main room and Ren waited for her to return.

“Okay, what is it?” Nathalia asked.

“I'll need directions to the Main Keep. I've been given a fine for using a false House name.”

“How could they do that?” Nathalia asked. “Ma just said she'd file the paperwork.”

“I'm an Adventurer. I guess once I accepted her condition, it was automatic.”

“That still doesn't sound...” Nathalia started to say when her mother came back into the room.

“It's done.” Narhilda said. “It was just a formality, really. Now that you're working for me, you can't have your own House.”

They both looked at her in surprise.

“What?” She asked.

“You couldn't just tell us that?” Nathalia said, exasperated.

“As soon as I thought of it, I tried to stand up... and you saw what happened.” Narhilda said as her face flushed a little red again. “I was a little distracted.” She glanced at Ren.

“Ma.”

“Yes, dear?”

“You can file paperwork from here?”

Narhilda nodded. “Your father had the Sending Stone installed ages ago. Connects right to the Main Keep's filing room. He needed a way to bill the Nobility without bothering them with the petty details.”

“Sending Stone?” Ren asked, intrigued. “What does it do?”

“It connects to another stone just like it at the Main Keep. You activate it, and when you speak, someone else hears it as if you were standing right next to them.”

Ren's eyes widened. “No way!”

Narhilda nodded. “It works for 5 minutes at a time, but it's only one way.” She said. “Once an hour, it can be used.”

“That's a great thing!” Ren said, then thought about it for a minute. “I wonder what the range is...”

“From here to the Main Keep at least.” Narhilda said. “About 2 miles.”

Ren whistled. It was the first time he'd heard of anything in the game that would let you talk to someone that wasn't standing right next to you.

“Can I see it?” Ren asked.

“I don't think that's a good idea.” Narhilda said and blushed slightly. “It's... in my bedroom.”

Ren blinked a few times.

“Ma, stop teasing him.” Nathalia sighed. “She hasn't slept in that room since Da... left.”

“Oh, you're no fun, dear.” Narhilda smiled. “My bedroom is this way.” She said to Ren and bat her eyelashes, then walked down the hallway.

I'm really glad I sent Teepo in first. Ren thought and followed her. This woman would have definitely been trouble, otherwise.

“That's what I'm here for.” Teepo said.

Everything going alright?

“Kind of. I think... yes, I found where all of the spiders are coming from.”

Let me guess. One of the walls in the lower Keep opened up into a cavern and there's a giant nest at the end of it.

“How did you know that?” Teepo asked, surprised.

They had to come from somewhere. Ren thought. At least it's not actually inside the Keep.

“Here it is.” Narhilda said and showed Ren a huge workbench. At the top corner, under what looked like thick glass, was a stone tablet. A single marking was on it and Ren wondered what it was. He activated his Enchanted Eyes, Read Rune, and Decipher to examine it. The tablet didn't glow, but Ren didn't really expect it to. Nathalia's mother had said that she'd just used it. and it would be another hour before it could be used again. Ren stepped close and examined it closely. He was about to say that he didn't know what it was, then he realized what it meant, and smiled.