.^^ the Gift Staff ^^

— Cassidy —

Sariel was true to his word, leading us to a small warehouse in the south-eastern spiral, where apparently his family held the deeds to quite a few different properties, and this particular place was his. He explained it as where he had originally begun his 'Experimenting'.

Tommy seemed interested, and we entered to find what I would only label as a mad magicians laboratory, instead of a mad scientists, and one made by a child's mind, at that. Several magical lightning crystals bounced sparks between them like Tesla coils, and a set of vials had dissolved, taking most of one of the tables with them.

Kyrew frowned at him. "You were playing with acids even before we left for the Floating City?!?"

He grinned shamelessly. "Anyway! Welcome to my old Lab! The one I have in the ClockTower is way better, so you can use this place for whatever you want."

I nodded, and placed the silver disk on the wall, then simply twisted it until it clicked, and a door appeared. The silver disk sank into the door, and I nodded. "Perfect! Now for some protection... Tommy, you got anything to make this room secure?" I asked.

She shrugged, flipping through her grimoire. "Gimme a mo... I've got Sanctuary, but it takes a full year of casting to take effect. Hmph." She shook her head.

"Can we Fabricate some Traps?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well... I don't see why not. Sure." She nodded, and began fixing up the entryways, while I replaced the windows with triple-paned bulletproof glass, then the flooring with acid-resistant titanium plates, shaped to look like wooden slats, then covered the floor with iron sand with mithril mixed in, which I enchanted, bucket by bucket, to absorb malignant magic inside the building. It was limited, but within its limitations, it was powerful.

I looked to see what Tommy had done, and raised an eyebrow at the intricate vault door she'd placed in front of the entrance, and was currently coating the walls with inch-thick titanium slabs.

I laughed softly. "I said secure, not Fortify! Damn, sis!"

She grinned, finishing the walls stubbornly, then sat down suddenly. "Whoo! That's a draining task, huh?

I chuckled and finished the floor over the next few minutes. As I finished, the little golden dragon crawled out of my bag, and sat on my shoulder, yawning loudly.

"Hey buddy, have a good nap?" I smiled, and tickled his chin gently.

He purred, and then perked up, staring at Saint, the silly wolf pup that was currently growling at his reflection in the titanium like a little doofus. He pounced off my shoulder, his stubby little wings growing to the right size to carry him, to my surprise, then landed on the wolf's shoulders.

The wolf sat up, and looked over his shoulders at the dragon, cocking his skull. His one damaged ear flopped adorably, and the dragon nodded, curling up on his shoulders and purring. Saint licked the little dragon curiously, then began trotting around, smelling the room, and completely ignoring the sleeping dragon on his shoulders.

I laughed softly. "That's adorable."

"Indeed. Well! If that's all, I'd like to visit my family, and then meet back with Lady Skøll to secure passage home." Lady Kyrew sighed.

"You don't need to. I can open the doors for you on your way out. I have a key." Tommy nodded.

"You have fun with that. I'm heading back to meet the rest of Sandy's family." I waved, and left them on their own, working my way back towards the Estate.

About a hundred yards from the front gate, a group of three guards surrounded me (all females, surprisingly). "You, Sun-Elf! What's your business in the Jeweled Quarter?" One of them frowned at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "My future wife and her family, for one, and also my own family currently visiting that estate, the Daisha Estate."

She snorted. "Yes, and I'm the Empress, darling! Now go on, mercenaries and assassins aren't allowed here, for obvious reasons."

I chuckled. "I'm at a point where I'm more amused than offended, honestly... my name is Lady-Knight Cassidy Skøll, granddaughter of Hildegard Skøll, owner and founder of the Golden Circle. As such, you will move out of my way, and you will never bother me or my family again, or you will find yourselves working the sewers for the rest of your miserable careers, am I perfectly clear?"

They blinked, unfazed, and shrugged. "If that's what happens from us doing our jobs, so be it. Move along." The speaker said calmly.

I hummed. "Well, I can tell you're certainly not ordinary guards. Dropping my name usually makes people leave me alone, at the very least... but tell me, if I have proven myself nobility, what reason do you have for making me leave?"

"You haven't proven anything, you've just made claims and threats." She smirked.

"True... Ah, here we go, proof." I took out my badge, with my name and race on it, and showed it to her.

She raised an eyebrow, and examined it carefully. "Mm... could be a forgery... but it warrants at least a check. Let's go." She started walking towards the Estate, and the two others placed their spears against my kidneys, waiting for me to move. They didn't shove me, thankfully, (that would have ended badly for them,) but they were patient and stubborn, like any mother learned to be.

I walked forward easily, and the guard knocked on the gate soundly. "Queen Kalen'i's Guard, requesting the presence of the Matriarch!" She barked.

The door opened a few moments later, and Iris poked her head out. "Cassidy, what've you done?"

"They think I'm a peasant, apparently, or an mercenary, as it's apparently illegal to wear armor, here. They seem to think that nobles don't need protection from arrows. Maybe they think the money builds a magical shield when we are attacked." I responded dryly.

The guard to my left snickered softly, then silenced herself. "Sorry, that was a good one." She cleared her throat.

The speaker sighed. "If you know her, Little One, then you can vouch for her identity?"

"She is Cassidy Skøll, Lady-Knight of the Golden Coast, Ex-Commander and Guardian of the Golden Coast's Eastern Naval Routes, and my PARTNER!" Sandy Hissed, standing directly in front of the guard suddenly.

The guard fell on her ass, and stood quickly, bowing. "Lady Sand Dancer, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't... see you there." She stuttered.

Sandy glared at the woman venomously. "Athelea Cyrus, you knew exactly who she was, and you will never insult my Clan again, or I will burn your entire compound to the ground, and salt the ashes!" She growled, prowling forward and making the woman take several steps back.

Another voice interfered, a softer, but no less stern, voice. "What is this I hear about insults?" Lady Kaza appeared not unlike Sandy had, standing behind the guard so she was trapped between the two women.

"Well, I- come on, Sandy, you know I didn't mean any harm, I'm just doing my job-" the girl started babbling.

Sandy narrowed her eyes slowly. "Leave my sight, Athelea Cyrus. You were instructed never to even look in my direction again, much less speak my name, last I checked!"

The woman flinched, and then bowed stiffly, as best she could squished between the two women. "As you wish, my Lady Daisha." She turned on her heel smartly, a well-executed right-face, and began marching away.

The two guards leaned against their staffs, looking between us all, confused. "Can I get some context, here?" One of them, the one to laugh, chuckled.

"Same..." I hummed.

Sandy sighed. "An old friend, now an enemy. She's bitter about how we left things, and likes to abuse her authority to torment the friends I bring home. She's been warned by the Captain before, but she hasn't learned her lesson, it seems."

"Because you keep rewarding her bad behavior. She's an obsessed person who isn't supposed to see you, but if you show up every time she messes with you, you're just encouraging the behavior. Think of her like a dog you don't see often, and the dog pisses on your drapes to get your attention, but instead of beating the dog, you pet it's head." Kaza threw her two cents in calmly.

I nodded. "Exactly. I can handle myself, my dear, as can most others. Ignore her entirely, if you wish to punish her. Now! Thank you, girls, your presence is no longer required, you may now go fetch your leader and bring her before your local authority for her professional punishment." I glanced at the two guards. They bowed, then jogged off after the woman, and began leading her towards one of the Spires of Crystal.

Mother poked her head out the gap of the gate, about three feet above Iris. "Everything copacetic out here?"

"Just an old girlfriend to deal with. Handled it." I shrugged, and walked over to Sandy, pulling her into a hug. "As for you... that was incredibly sexy." I smirked.

She laughed softly, and kissed me. "You should see me fighting in the Arena, then. You think I'm sexy now? That fight is done wearing only a ceremonial skirt!"

I groaned. "Mmmm... Yep, that's- okay... Too much stimulation, so you are in time-out, until my ovaries cool off." I hauled her over my shoulder, laughing at her squeak of surprise.

"Well, you definitely get along." Kaza said dryly.

"Oh famously, yes. Anyway, the Door is set, and Tommy went with Sariel and his mother to pay their dues with their family, the Rashan's." I nodded to mother.

She hummed. "Good, Good... Alright, well, I'll go back to cooking! I have a few different pies in the oven, so they can be tasted and tested for the celebration." She darted off swiftly.

Kaza chuckled. "This 'Pie' is a versatile dish, and a very nice one. I will have her recipe."

"Never gonna happen. Just ask Hilde. She'll give you any recipe, except her Pecan Pie recipe, that one is only ever passed down to the eldest daughter." I nodded seriously.

"Ahh... so not your mother?" She hummed.

"No, my aunt, back in the Golden Coast. She taught it to her eldest daughter, my cousin. It's a very serious obligation, learning to make pies." I nodded again, keeping the serious vibe going for as long as possible, with Sandy's ass next to my face, and her hanging limply over my shoulder.

Kaza ignored that fact, and nodded. "I see. Every family has techniques they treasure. This is food, but I know certain cultures treasure their culinary techniques just as much as the sword and staff." She walked forward, leading us back to the house, while Iris closed the gate.

I held in my laughter with an honorable amount of conviction, and swallowed it down, then followed into the house, ducking extra-low so Sandy didn't get hit.

"That front entrance is a good defensive structure, but honestly... oh." I looked up, finally, and noticed the interior of the entryway, which no one would ever look at, whole ducking, was covered in tiny holes, which smelled of water and magic.

Kaza grinned. "Indeed. Very few ever even realize it's there. So! Should you be assisting your mother with the cooking?"

"No, that's more Tommy's thing. I've never liked cooking. My tastes are too... rustic. I like to make simple food. I mean, mom's food is amazing, but as I spent my adulthood as a soldier, I got used to the very basics; rations, cold meat, can of beans, stuff like that." I explained, and laid Sandy down on a couch, sitting in front of her.

Kaza sat across from me, and nodded. "I understand that much... I spent much of my own formative years in a Warband. We fought mostly kelpies and water dragons, maybe some other beasts here and there coming from out of the desert, but not humanoids. I imagine that's much worse on the soul..." she shook her head a little. "Anyway! How'd you meet my daughter?"

"Ha! That's a good story, actually! So, second night in the Floating city, second night in that continent, (we'd teleported directly to the city,) just reunited with my Gramma after so many years, and we enter an alley in the City. My father stops me, and shows me two hooded humanoids blocking the alley on his side, and I turn around to look at the two on mine. As I'm doing so, Sandy comes whipping into the alley as a Sand Demon, then just crushes both of them with her staff!" I laughed.

Kaza narrowed her eyes. "Sand Dancer! You know better than disrespecting the Hunting Laws!"

"Well, it was a grey area, they were just puppets of the real enemy, a Bard controlling their minds." She explained quickly.

"Ah... yes, that is an odd situation." She relaxed.

"And I don't know this woman, never seen her before, but she contacts me telepathically, tells me to trust her! Ha! So I grab my father, and I jump up onto the roofs of the buildings that are blocking us in, wanting either an escape or a wider battlefield. The alley was a bit cramped." I chuckled.

"And high ground, of course." She nodded.

"Yes. And there's two more up there, so I knock them out, and then this giant sand person appears next to me, and I lash out, kicking her in the chest! Does absolutely nothing, and now my foot is stuck!" I laughed.

Sandy sighed. "It did hurt quite a bit, actually, I just toughed it out." She admitted.

I snorted. "Didn't seem to do anything useful, though! Anyway, so she takes us to Renata, and then reveals her true form, this beautiful woman here." I kissed her ear mischievously, and she blushed, ducking into my back to hide.

"Jerk." She muttered.

"And So we interrogate one of them, the one I caught,-"

—

"And she made tea, which ended pretty well, I'd say-" I smirked as Sandy head butted my back despondently.

"She can read your mind, you pretty idiot!" She hissed, and I flinched, forcing the thoughts of me massaging and bathing and then having the beautiful woman in her bed out of my mind.

"Oh!... well I'm sure she's polite enough not to poke around in people's brains." I shrugged.

"I am not, actually, but I did block out the naughty bits entirely. I don't need or want to know my daughter's kinks, not without her permission. As her mother, we talk of these things, but I would never invade her privacy like that." Kaza assured me sincerely.

"Just mine." I grinned.

"Just yours." She shrugged.

I had an idea, suddenly. "Oh, I had a question... what exactly counts as a proper... gift, for the celebration?" I asked quietly, glancing at Iris, who was sitting in the library portion of the second level.

"If you mean the staff you made, Yes, that is a fine gift. When she chooses one, you may chose to keep yours, or it will get placed with the rest of the Gifted Staffs, in the Everchest. During the gifting, all the staffs are paraded in front of the applicant to choose from, so a future generation member of my Clan may choose your Gift." She explained, pointing at a glass and mithril cabinet, the only such object in the house.

It was situated off-center in the room, but not so to the house as a whole. Through the glass, you could see several staffs inside, visibly floating and disappearing. New ones appeared every time, and I noticed a clear cycle, as all of them were shown over the course of about a minute.

I hummed. "Interesting... and while they're in there, they gain power and even Sentience, from being in the exact center of your Home. A funnel of Psionic and Magical energy, constantly empowering the contents of the Everchest. Impressive..."

She smiled. "You are incredibly intelligent. I like it."

"Just observant, really." I shook my head.

"Be that as it may, it's now time for dinner, even though your mother and grandmother have likely stuffed everyone in the house already." She laughed, leading us into a large dining room, with the traditional low seating and cushions on the floor.

Mother was placing food on the table, and grinned when everyone filed in. "Yay! I'm sorry, I haven't cooked for so many people in a long time! All my children are all grown up!" She hugged one of the girls, who had casually come up to her and sat in her lap, and set her down next to her on a cushion.

Kaza chuckled. "That is a tragedy, isn't it? It's no problem, though, I enjoy a good feast every once in a while. The rest of the Clan will be sorry they missed this, when they arrive for the Celebration."

I looked around at the thirty or so relatives I'd been introduced to, 15 of which were children. "Jesus... this isn't all of you?" I chuckled.

She grinned. "No, these are the permanent residents. The rest of the clan is spread out amongst the other cities, and a few on other continents, like Sandy. Not all of them can make it, unfortunately, but those that can spare the time will. A new member of our clan coming of age means many good things for us. And in these trying times, the celebration will lift people's spirits, so that's always appreciated."

I hummed. "And... how many are in the whole Daisha Clan?" I asked slowly.

She thought for a moment. "Oh... maybe 90 to 120, I can never remember the number of younglings running around. We have fifteen here, then there's... Hmm... yes, maybe 120 is a better estimate. And eventually your clan will be added to that, perhaps?" She smirked conspiratorially, and I chuckled as Sandy blushed.

A loud crash outside the gate, followed by an explosion, and I growled, leaping to my feet and charging outside. "Tommy you destructive maniac!"