Whispers of a Dead Empire

As the words left my lips, his eyes widened slightly. "But I haven't seen such a device before. Nor has anyone who has delved into your domain."

"I know. We only recently got back into development. We should have a working model here in the next few weeks if you want to see it. However, it is a technology we will not be actively selling if that's what you think. At most, we will only place a station here and potentially other vital areas. Maybe more if you agree to form a company with me." I dropped that last part on him, hoping that's all I needed to convince him of what I wanted. Money wasn't my end goal, after all. Just the essence. But if I made money, so be it. I wouldn't complain in the slightest.

"You know, you come in here, giving me news that I could hardly believe. Tell me, Calixa, what is your endgame, truly?" He leaned back in his chair and eyed me wearily, waiting for my response.

"In the end, all that matters to me is my people. Our relationship allows me to give them a better life. Even if it sounds altruistic, that is the truth." Did it sound cliche? A bit, yes, but that is my goal. That is my driving purpose. The undead deserves to be happy, and I will do everything I can to grant that to them.

"It's rare to find a ruler who cares truly for the people. Even if they do, the nobles don't usually either." He nodded and stared at me with a blend of a grimace and a smile. "I will take your word for it, Calixa. However, before we pursue that topic any further, I would like to see this train before I sign off on such a partnership."

"That is perfectly valid. If you give me some time, I will have the infrastructure and prototype finished, and I'll happily send you an invitation to test it out." I released the breath that I was holding. Good, all I needed to do was prove my claims' strength. That wouldn't be hard, since I had complete faith in my undead.

"Good, good. Anyway, I have a small proposition for you as well. We have had a few undead outbreaks as of late. If you would like if we could capture them, would you like to take them?"

The second he said that, I felt a strange feeling in my chest. I wanted to do nothing more than protect all the undead that I could. But I had to force myself not to accept it immediately. I didn't want to appear desperate. "Well, that would depend. Would I just be a prison dump?" I don't mind if they shipped off all the undead they came across to me. Mob creation ate much of my essence, and I wouldn't even bat an eye if I could get them for free. Especially if they were high-tier. The only issue would be that they wouldn't be loyal to me. But that would be easily solved by not giving them positions of power but simply letting them exist.

"Not exactly. I wasn't considering using you as such. It was merely a gesture of goodwill. Since you supposedly cut the chains that bind the undead to necromancers, I was hoping to give the undead a new life with you." He leaned forward in his chair and regarded me with an impassive stare.

He was undoubtedly trying to scrutinize me and my responses, but I would give him as little to work with as I could. "I will happily take you on that. Send any and all undead that you capture to my domain." I shifted forward in my chair and reached my hand out to shake him to solidify our agreement. "There will be no strings attached. Just set them free the moment you pass into the domain."

He glanced at my black metal-clad hand for a second before reaching out. "So it's a deal then. I'm glad."

"Now that the first part of our negotiations is out of the way, I think I'll take Nyx out into the town for a bit. If that's alright." I pulled my hand away and settled back into the chair. I needed a break from all of this, anyway. Besides, if I didn't take her out to the magic store we passed on the way here, she would never let me hear the end of it.

"Oh, that's perfectly fine. I need to think some things over. Also, before you go, would you mind meeting with Cato and a few representatives of the adventurer guild while you are here?"

Gross, I hated dealing with people. Especially people I didn't know. But it was part of the job, so I guess I could handle it now. "That's alright."

"When?"

"How does tomorrow sound?"

Fuck, that was such a short time. I wanted to groan at the thought. "Yeah, that works. Just send me a summon when you are ready." I cleared my throat and stood up, hopefully showing that this was the end of the conversation.

"Of course. Enjoy your time out in town, Calixa." He gave me a curt nod, and I spun on my heel as I walked towards the door. How did Alessia deal with my daughter, I wonder?

When I returned to the guest room, I gently pushed the door open and saw Alessia lying on the bed with Nyx passed out, lying on top of her. "So, I'm assuming things went well then?" I asked as I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me as quietly as possible.

"Yes. She seems happy with it, so I won't complain." Her golden eyes twinkled with happiness as she ran her fingers through Nyx's hair.

"The girl is happy with anything that has to do with us." I crossed the room, and walked over to Alessia, and sat on the edge of the bed. "And honestly, so am I." Alessia's eyes darted up toward me as I reached out and took my hand in hers.

"Calixa.." She stared up at me, and she trailed off.

I grinned, slid into the bed next to both of them, and wrapped my arms around them. "Yes, darling?" I asked as I nestled myself into Alessia while wrapping my free arm around Nyx.

"You should take that mask off so I can kiss you." She whispered softly in my ear.

My heart jumped slightly, and I felt a grin cross my face. "In a little while. Let's just enjoy this moment for a second, shall we?" She nodded her head and, instead, lay there and stared at me.

"Would you mind if we went to the magical store later?" I asked as I ran my thumb over her hand.

"No, Nyx already asked to go. She said she wanted it to just be you and her for now." As she said that, I felt like I could see sadness lingering in the depths of her eyes.

"I wouldn't take it personally. She truly looks up to you." I rested my forehead against hers and smiled softly. "Besides, you are a mother now."

"I know. I'm just at a loss for how to deal with this. My entire life has revolved around fighting to get ahead. I've fought monsters and delved into dungeons. I've trained troops and fought in battles. Yet, I don't know how to do this." She glanced away from me, and her eyes fell on the form of my sleeping daughter.

"Honestly, I don't know either. A lot of it is just instinct. But I wouldn't worry. We can figure this out together. All Right?" Mostly, I really didn't know what I was doing in raising Nyx. I never planned on having a child, and everything to me was unexplored territory. Her eyes traveled back to mine and met. I happily stared at her eyes, lost in the golden sea that shifted in tandem with my heart.

We both laid like that for quite some time until I heard Nyx start to stir.

"Mother?" She asked as she peeked an eye open and stared at me.

"Yes?" I had to force myself to pull my eyes away from Alessia to glance at her.

"Can we go shopping now?" She asked through mostly closed eyes as she nestled herself further into Alessia.

"And if I tell you no?" I curled myself up a little tighter and placed my head close to Alessia's chest to be closer to Nyx.

"Then I'm going to go back to sleep." Her words held a sense of finality as she replied, though I knew she wasn't sleeping.

"It just sounds like you want Alessia all to yourself." I shifted my arms slightly as I could reach and ran my fingers through her hair.

"She is very comfortable." Nyx nodded her head slightly.

"Well, I'm glad. Now get up, and get ready so we can go." I told her as I poked her face.

In half a heartbeat, she was already up and rummaging through her bag for a change of clothes. I smiled while I watched her get ready and shifted back to my position to Alessia. "You know.." I trailed off slightly as I positioned my face close to her ears.

"I know what?" She replied in an ever-so-quiet whisper as I got comfortable once again. This time, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me.

"Nyx said you were comfortable," I told her as I glanced at Nyx. I didn't know how good her sense of hearing was, so I wanted to make what I wanted to say as discreet as possible.

"I know." She shifted under my touch slightly as I leaned in as close I could, and in a very hushed whisper, I continued on. "I would be inclined to agree. Though I would have to get you underneath me to see for sure."

I rested there for a split second before I pulled away. Perhaps I should stop teasing the poor girl, but I couldn't help it. Though I have an aching feeling if I keep it up, Alessia will take her pound of flesh. At least, that's what the look in her eyes was telling me.