Ascending Legends

[BookWyrm]

"Perfectly fine with me." Dayn looked over at Arryn before kissing her cheek. "I'd rather cover you with my name than proclaim your true heritage to the world at large, though. That way it protects you from anyone who might not need to know, and if we ever decide to have children it will protect them as well."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn nodded. "Very good point. You know my mother will have to conduct the ceremony... he, Theodas, Matthis, and Kalie... that's enough, right? I feel bad, we don't have any of your friends or family...."

 

[BookWyrm]

"That is plenty, and good choices. My family would understand, even if we have to explain it all when we reveal my lycanthropy." Dayn pulled Arryn aside before they entered the elder's building. He kissed her before hugging her tight. "Its okay for them not to be here. They may offer to throw us a small celebration though."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn nodded. "That's fine, I'm sure Norim will too once he learns, but I just want the wedding part to be.... quiet. celebrations afterwards, those are fine." Arryn kissed his cheek and led him in. Luckily the only elders in attendance that day were ones who liked her, so the paperwork was quite swift - especially since they wanted that property sold. Arryn took Dayn's hand as they walked out, saying, "Well, first things first, we'll need to clean, buy a bed, fix up the big things, all that. Let's take a good look inside the place to see what we have to buy, though."

 

[BookWyrm]

"Yeah, lets head back there and check everything out." As Dayn led Arryn out of the building they were stopped by a figure standing outside. It was a man in a black cloak wearing a deep blue gambeson, beside him sat a strange wolf dragon looking animal. "I was wondering why you called in the investments. It all makes sense now." "You wouldn't know a thing about this Gareth. The only companionship I see you with are those bloody Alphyn of yours." The man pulled his hood back to reveal charcoal hair and a kind, but scarred, face. "Is that anyway to talk to an old friend?"


Dayn walked over and clasped wrists with the man before hugging him tight. "Its good to see you son. Now, get your ugly face out of my way and introduce this beautiful woman to me." Dayn stepped aside and held out his hand for Arryn. "Gareth, this is Arryn, my wife. Arryn, this is Gareth. He is an old friend from the campaign. Best damn man-at-arms I have ever had the honor to fight beside." "The pleasure is mine Miss Braegland.", Gareth said with a bow. "You know how to pick them Miss. Dayn might be young but I have never seen a knight of better mettle than this man." The alphyn walked over and sniffed of Arryn before rubbing it's head against her leg and sitting down to look at her, begging for attention.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn blushed slightly and nodded politely in reply. "It's nice to meet you too. And don't worry, I'm aware of what a good man Dayn is." She gave Dayn a smile. Her attention being pulled by the alfyn, which she promptly obliged by petting it gently. An odd creature, but she liked it already.

 

[BookWyrm]

The alfyn made a strange cooing sound, though it seemed content. "I don't have much time to enjoy the reunion sadly. Business is growing with leaps and bounds right now. We've started working with some convoys that travel all over Trulane. In honest truth we owe you a lot more than what I brought this time, but with how things are going you will be receiving stipends pretty regularly. Which brings me to my next question."


Dayn held up his hand and shook his head. "I've already started the process of withdrawing my savings from Wheathrow. It will all be back in Riverbend for my next visit. I trust my family's treasury more than any other. And with Arryn and I having a home here as well as investing in property between here and Riverbend I'd rather my funds be close at hand."


Gareth nodded. "You've put a lot of thought into this. Smart. We're keeping things private as well. None of these larger banks, only personal associates for us. They will also honor your claim as well." Gareth hand Dayn a small wrapped item. "Just show them this if you ever need their services. Now, where do you want me to drop the package?"


Dayn took Arryn and Gareth back to their borrowed home. Gareth had a small mule drawn cart with him, carrying several sacks in a safe box in the back. Dayn helped Gareth carry in four of the sacks before saying goodbye. "I'll be in touch every month."


After watching Gareth leave Dayn turned back to Arryn and smiled. "My father taught my some about investments, but I learned most of it from an old dwarven friend from the campaign. I helped start his business, and well, it seems to be paying off. Take a look inside one if you want."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn looked at the bag and opened it up, gasping at the contents. "Gods, Dayn.... This is so much.... And they owe you more?" She couldn't say she hadn't seen this much money in one place, thanks to the black market treasuries they'd occasionally raid if they were low on supplies, but this was more than she ever thought she'd partly own. It was still Dayn's, though they were married.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he walked over and hugged Arryn. "Yes, they do owe some more, and there will be regular stipends because I'm a business partner. But this is ours, not just mine." Dayn brushed Arryn's hair aside and kissed her cheek. "Everything I have is your's as well. I trust you with all of it, especially my heart." Dayn walked into the kitchen and poured them both some mulled wine before continuing. "Gareth, Oron, and I all served together in the campaign. During the downtime we found ways of staying sane. One of those ways was talking about business if we ever made it out alive. Oron's family was laborers, but his father managed to work up enough money to have Oron sent to a guild for studies. He took to his studies well, but in order to pay off the guild he would hire himself out as armed services and protection. Well, during the campaign we had to constantly rotate in new troops or hire mercenaries to supplement our losses, most of which we due to under trained greenhorns being swindled in by easy money. Oron hated seeing the boys being cut to ribbons. So, he decided to open up a fighter's guild to help train and equip people that were not so well off, but he didn't have the funds or the man power to make it happen. Oron could handle the business end as Guild master, and Gareth was the best trainer anyone could find, but they needed the funds. That was where I came in. It almost drained me dry, which is why I went back to adventuring after coming home from the campaign, but the investment is finally paying off."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled, saying, "That's amazing. All of it. Training the fighters, the business aspect. And now, all of this money... it's really a lot. We shouldn't have need of half of it...." What would they even do with that much money? It was more than enough for the pair of them, even if they bought multiple houses. She laughed a bit, still processing all of it. "Well, I guess the first thing to do with it is fix up the house we just bought...."

 

[BookWyrm]

"I know we have more than enough to fix up the house, buy some property, and build another house four times over." Dayn had been thinking over some things about Rorich for a while now. "I want to help Matthias and Kalie, as well as Mum and Theodas. We will be more than set with the money coming in monthly, and I don't feel like we should just hold onto all of it if we are going to continue adventuring. Is there anything you would like to do with it?"

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn paused for a minute, shocked and elated by this suggestion. She nodded quickly, smiling more than ever. "I want to fix up Mom's house more, buy her some things for her own comfort, and I want to let Matthias and Kalie have enough money so they can travel; I know they do occasionally, though it's mostly in search of jobs. I want to give a bit to some of the younger street kids. Oh, some wooden training swords for us.... I can't think of anything else at the moment."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he took a sip of his wine. "We are going to have to do this sparingly. We can't just go out and do it all at once, otherwise people might catch on all of the sudden. I don't really want people outside of our small group knowing about this." Dayn took another sip of his wine before continuing. "I gave Matthias a gift last night, so I think Theodas and Mum should be next after we get our house in order. Um, Arryn," Dayn had a slightly worried look on his face. He took a deep breath. "I have been thinking about Esclaire since the poison incident. She said the only reason she did it was for the money to buy her mom some medicine. I know you have had some troubles with her before, and I think she is probably scared to death of me, but I can't help but wonder if she ever got the medicine for her mother."

 

[Dragongal]

Aryn sighed, thinking. "I know we can't do it all at once, love. I'm just listing things before I forget. As for Esclaire... She's a good fighter. Overall a good lass. I can understand her side of things.... We'll find out about it, and then we'll drop the money off without her knowing... anonymous donation...."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn sat his mug down and walked over, cupping her face in his hands as he rubbed her cheeks. "Love, if you are uncomfortable about the idea of helping her, please tell me. I don't want you to be bothered by any of this."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled and pressed her head against his chest as she took one of his hands, holding it to her chest. "I'm not uncomfortable with it. I don't want her knowing it was us, though. I can see why she wouldn't have Mom's help for this, mom can't make some medicines, so I can understand it. However, I don't want it getting out about all this money we have."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn felt himself melt slightly as Arryn snuggled up against him. "We'll make sure to play it safe love. I've got full confidence in the two of us." Dayn slowly nuzzled against Arryn's neck as he held her. "With you all snuggled up against me I find myself wanting to delay going back to the house for a little while."

 

[Dragongal]

"Oh, but love, if we go now, by the end of the week I bet we could be staying there - in a big, warm bed, with a two-person bath in the next room." Arryn nuzzled against his chest a bit, enjoying the feeling of Dayn cuddling up to her and responding to her attention. But she was determined to fix up the house, the idea excited her.

 

[BookWyrm]

Despite how nice it would be to be in the house by the end of the week, Dayn was finding it more and more difficult to leave with Arryn nuzzling against him. "You really do drive a hard bargain love." Dayn slowly freed his hand from Arryn's grasp before hefting her into his arms to hold her for a few moments, supporting her weight with one arm while the other held the back of her head as he nuzzled against her cheek. She felt warm against him, her skin soft and delicate. Her hair tickled his neck as it lay against him. He held her close for a little while longer before nudging her gently so that he could kiss her lips.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn happily complied with his request, kissing him slowly. She put her arms around his neck, just to be a bit closer. When their lips parted, she nuzzled against his chest. "Well, love, sometimes a hard bargain is the only way to get us to stop cuddling."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn really didn't want to let go of Arryn, but she was right, and the desire to have their own house by the end of the week was alluring. "Alright. At least kiss me one more time before we get going."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled and kissed him again, then said, "Going to let me down now, love?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he slowly lowered Arryn back to the floor in front of him. "Only because by this time at the end of the week we can be cuddling together in our own home."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn kissed his cheek and went to the table, took one final gulp of her spiced wine before taking his hand and pulling him toward the door playfully.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn complied, a smile on his face as he followed Arryn back to their new home. He stood outside of it and rubbed his chin. "The roof still looks good from outside, but I'll have to check inside to see if there is any damage or leaking." Dayn walked towards the door and cracked it open to peak inside. "Northerners tend to build roofs that last for centuries, and from what I've seen they usually don't need repair very often." Dayn held the door open for Arryn and walked into the main room. It was a nice open space, with the kitchen, main room, and dining room all consisting of one large room. "Well, it is a lot more open than I first thought. That is definitely nice. Doesn't look like the roof needs any repair either. I don't smell any mildew or mold, which means no moisture has made it in and taken hold."