Mythran's Master Of All

Ren and Nathalia went back to House Neram to get something to eat. Her mother was waiting for them with a large meal set out on the kitchen table. Nathalia was surprised by everything that her mother had prepared in the time they had been gone from the house. Teepo took this opportunity to go back down into the Keep. He would have plenty of time to explore everything during the night and wanted to get back to it.

I'll be asleep soon, though... so I won't be able to summon you back until the morning. Be careful, buddy. Ren thought to his friend.

“I will.” Teepo said.

Have fun.

The trio sat down to eat and enjoyed sharing stories of their adventures. Ren had been so busy learning dwarf culture, he never had a chance to actually talk with Nathalia about normal things. Her mother, Narhilda, also enjoyed the stories, as she hadn't seen her daughter in several weeks and was always up for some good gossip. They all laughed and talked, and just enjoyed each other's company. The time came, however, when Ren had to log out. He hoped that since he was now an employee of House Neram, that it would be a safe zone. It was his biggest worry at the moment. The last thing he needed was to log out and leave his body unguarded, especially in a land far and away from his spawn point.

“Thank you for the fantastic meal, My Lady.” Ren said and stood. “I better get downstairs.”

“Oh, nonsense!” Narhilda said. “You said it yourself. You don't want to touch anything down there without talking to a stonemason first.”

“Then I'll be outside in the stable.” Ren said.

“Nathalia, is he always this stubborn?” She asked her daughter.

“Well, rather than stay in his cabin, he slept in the hold of the ship for the whole trip.” Nathalia said. “So, yes... he's that stubborn.”

“What?” Her mother said and looked at Ren. “You slept in the hold?”

Ren nodded. “When I boarded the ship, I was told if I was worried about my mount, I could just stay in the hold with her.”

Narhilda looked at him like he was crazy, and Ren laughed. “I just got her, so I didn't want to leave her alone for too long.”

She shook her head. “I won't have it. We have 3 bedrooms. Nathalia has hers, and I've been staying in the spare room. You are more than welcome to stay in my old bedroom.”

Ren was about to protest, but Narhilda held up a hand. “I will not have a retainer of mine stay in the stable with an animal, no matter how much they may care about it.” She said. “You will stay in the house. For tonight, at least.”

Ren closed his mouth and nodded.

“Excellent! I've also thought of a stonemason that you can consult with. I'll write up a proper letter of introduction for you in the morning.” Narhilda said and stood. “Please, make yourself at home. You know where the bedroom is.” She waved down the hallway. “I'm going to bed myself.” She smiled. “Goodnight.”

Ren gave a slight bow. “Goodnight, My Lady.”

Narhilda's face flushed slightly red at Ren's use of her title, and at the thought of having a man under her roof after so long. She walked down the hall towards the last door and closed it behind her. Ren turned to Nathalia to see her slightly blushing as well.

“Nathalia, what...”

“I'd better get to bed, too.” She said and abrupty stood. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Ren said and watched as Nathalia walked quickly past where he stood and then down the hall to the door opposite where he would be sleeping. Ren waited until she entered her room and then activated Sneak to go outside to the stable. He took out the food he had easily stored during the meal and served it to Princess. Ren cleaned up the stable as best as he could to make room for Princess' crate. He put the crate in the back corner, so she could see out if she wanted, but would also have privacy from prying eyes.

“Ruck, do you want to come in the house, or do you want a cabinet put up out here?”

Ruck pointed to the wall next to Princess' crate and Ren smiled. He made another nice sized cabinet, rather than sticking Ruck back into the little one Ren had made for use on the ship. Once it was done and nailed into place, Ruck hopped off of Princess' saddle and came over. He opened the door, gave Ren a 'thumbs up' gesture and closed the door.

“I'm glad you like it.” Ren said and smiled. He fluffed up the mattress in Princess' crate and went over to untie her reins. Ren made a dramatic wave to the crate. “Princess, your abode is ready.”

She took 2 steps and then stopped.

“Oh right! Sorry.” Ren took off her saddle and the rein harness from her face, and stored them. She walked past him and into the stable, turned around inside her crate, and plunked down. “Goodnight.” Ren said and closed the stable door.

Now that the essentials were done, he went back inside the house. Ren crept as quietly as he could down the hallway and into the old bedroom. He shut the door and went over to the bed. Everything inside the house was well maintained, unlike the outside. Even in this old bedroom that wasn't being used anymore, things seemed to be in good condition. Unable to restrain his curiosity, Ren looked around the room to see what he could find. He didn't rummage or search it; that would have been bad behavior for a guest. He did look at things on the surface, however. Nothing of note could be found, until his gaze found the large workbench. The top was still cleared of everything except for the Sending Stone; but the shelf underneath could clearly be seen. It was full of parchment papers, stacked haphazardly. Some of them were folded, and some of them were rolled. Most were just laid out flat and had slid and mixed together.

It irked Ren that someone could do all that work and then not put them away properly. He sighed and pulled out everything from the shelf. The least he could do was organize the thing. Ren assumed that they were all documents used for the filing and billing of contracts, since he knew that Nathalia's father had worked for years making clothes for everyone that could pay the fees. Once he started sorting, though... he found out what the papers actually were.

Patterns! Ren thought in astonishment. Hundreds of patterns! Ren went through them, drinking them all in. Dresses! Pants! Shirts! Outfits of every kind!

There were commoner's clothes, priest and monk robes, barmaid outfits, maid outfits, Royal Court clothing, durable miner's clothes... the list went on and on. They were all styled for dwarves, but that didn't really matter. Only a slight alteration would make them adaptable for anyone to wear. Ren organized them as he went along, absorbing and copying the patterns. When he was nearly done, he started in on the rolled up ones. Carefully opening them, he copied their patterns as well and stored them back in the workbench properly. When he got to the last one, he opened it and gasped. It just happened to be the last thing Nathalia's father had made for her. The fancy party dress that she never took off.

Ren studied it carefully and took his time, admiring the detail and finesse needed to craft such a fantastic piece of clothing. Her father wasn't just a great tailor. He was a Master Tailor! Ren thought. If I'm reading these right... everyone from a King to a Commoner has worn his clothes. Ren rolled the last pattern back up gently and placed it on the shelf, seperate from the other patterns. It was too special to just mix it with the others.