Hidden In Plain Sight

“Well, you heard my father. I’ll show you around the manor,” Moira said before motioning John to follow her. They went to the next door on the right and went inside. “This is the library. We have many ancient and forbidden books about magic and history here. Perhaps, if you prove your worthiness, we will let you study some of them,” Moira left the room and continued her tour. She pointed out a few more rooms in the West Wing, including a study for the Order’s seers and a billiards room.

“So uh, has your dad ever had a Colonel Mustard over to billiards?” John questioned, letting out a small laugh at his own joke. Moira gave him a quick **** stare before continuing to the main hall and into the foyer.

“So this is the foyer. You’ll see to the left the staircase that leads upstairs. The upstairs are where the living quarters are, so there’s no reason to take you up there. Ever,” a stern Moira informed John. “You also saw the hedge maze outside the manor as we came inside. Let’s head to the east wing now,” and with that Moira continued her tour.

“We have various meeting rooms here, with the room at the end being the main conference room,” Moira said as the two walked into the conference room. John was amazed. There was a very long mahogany table with over a dozen chairs. There was a large fireplace at the far end of the room, with a portrait of a woman in maybe her 30s with long red hair and perky breasts. If John didn’t know any better he would have sworn it was Moira.

“Is that a picture of your mother?” asked John, staring at the portrait.

“Yes. It will stay there until I become a full-fledged Warden, in which case my portrait will replace hers,” she informed John. “That one will then be taken to the Vault to be placed alongside the rest of the Warden portraits to always be remembered.”

“I see. Can I get a closer look?” asked John.

“Why?” questioned Moira, not trusting John’s intentions. “Ugh, fine. Yes.”

John approached the portrait. As he did he opened his inventory box and took out Mrs. Wentworth’s rune. She said I could place it anywhere, so maybe if I hide it in the fireplace nobody would notice? I mean, it’s magical so I doubt it could be burned. John decided as he got close enough so his body blocked his hands from Moira’s view. He reached under the fireplace and as he put the rune close to the inner wall of the fireplace, the rune leapt from his grip and attached itself to the wall.

Quest complete! Return to Mrs. Wentworth for your reward!

“You are well on your way to looking as gorgeous as your mother, Moira,” complimented John.

“Oh um yeah, I guess so…” Moira replied rather weakly.

“What, you don’t think you’re pretty?” inquired John.

“No..yes…it doesn’t matter if I’m pretty or not! I’m the future Warden of the Golden Rose! My future doesn’t require me to be pretty!” Moira blurted out, trying to defend her position.

“No, you really are; one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen!” exclaimed John as he moved a lock of Moira’s hair away from her face. Moira shivered at the touch of his skin to hers.

New Skill: Arouse lvl 1
10 stamina
Increase the target’s sexual arousal for 20 minutes. You can get the effects of this spell for half the cost if the target is in contact with your semen.

“We uh..need to get back to my father. He should be done by now,” Moira quickly said and rushed away from John, her face flushed.

“Huh, that move will be interesting to use for sure,” said a John whose face curled into a wicked grin. He quickly followed Moira back to her father’s study. Her demeanor had changed quite a bit since John accidently used arouse on her.

“Mr. Newman, here is the new proposal. You will be a freelance magic user under our protection. You agree to come to our assistance whenever we demand it and will not associate with any dark guilds. Understand?” the elder Brighton informed John.

“I do have one question. Will I be compensated for my helping you?”

“You seem to be misinformed. You will do as we demand.”

“So how is that different than me being a vassal to you? I have no problem being your ally, but you must treat me as such. I propose I will be under your protection and will assist you with anything you need of me for proper compensation. In return, I pledge not to join any dark guilds, provide any information that may be of use to your order, and assist you in the most timely manner that I can,” John said to Lord Brighton, a look of determination on his face. He had no intentions of being tied directly to the Golden Order. He suspected they had too many rules for him to truly test out all he would be capable of. They would, however, be a good source of protection until he was strong enough to defend himself, much like Mrs. Wentworth must be. Lord Brighton returned John’s unflinching gaze right back at him. Both men stared at each other for a few minutes, all the while Moira had slowly backed away, seemingly preoccupied with her horniness that appeared out of nowhere.

“Hmm. If you were any other magic user, I’d have you slain for daring to make such a demand. But you…you seem to have unique powers not seen in quite a long time. The Lady seems to have touched you and personally cultivate your powers. As stalwart followers of the Lady, we cannot overlook her smiling upon you. So be it, your terms will be met.” Lord Brighton brought his hand up which John’s hand met. Both men squeezing the other’s hand, seeing who would flinch first. This went on for 5 minutes before Moira broke the silence.

“Argh. Let me know when you two are done with your pissing contest!” she declared before rushing out of the study, heading down the hall and towards the foyer and most likely her room John guessed.

“She is right. I apologize. That was unprofessional of me. You do have a firm handshake however. I appreciate that. Now, let me edit this pact and then I’ll go get my daughter. Please wait in the courtyard while I fetch Moira to test your fighting abilities,” said Lord Brighton. A quick edit and two signatures later, John was an official ally of the Order of the Golden Rose. Lord Brighton thanked him for the pledge before exiting to go get his daughter.

John made his way to the courtyard, taking in the sight. It was a spacious area with a brick patio complete with a normal sized table and 4 seats around it. There were multiple paths around the rest of the courtyard, weaving in between the various plants that were around. John recognized some of them as plants native to Europe. Some looked very strange that John assumed were from the Abyss and must have some sort of magical use for the Brightons to cultivate them.

John wandered the paths, looking at a particularly striking plant, when he bumped into someone.

“Oh sorry! I got distracted by the plant,” John apologized as he pointed to the plant.

“Ah yes, the Tears of Joan,” said the unknown girl, “It is a particularly powerful healing herb. It is believed to have been created by the **** of Joan of Arc. Once she was burnt to ashes, a great gust lifted the ashes and spread them across all of Great Britain and wherever the ashes landed, this plant started growing,” the girl finished telling John the tale of the plant. John noticed an accent that wasn’t quite British but sounded similar.

“Oh wow. That’s totally different from what the history books say. But I guess they tend to only relate the truth according to the regular world and not the Abyss world,” John concluded.

“Yes, that’s exactly right,” confirmed the girl after a little giggle. “Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Anwyn Rhoswen, one of the Brighton family’s maids.”

“Nice to meet you. I am John Newman and I guess I am now an ally of the Order of the Golden Rose. So what’s it like working for the Brightons? And I hope I’m not overstepping but what accent is that?” asked a curious John.

“Oh, it’s not that bad. They are quite generous to their help. We get paid quite well, are protected from Abyssal elements, and have one month’s paid vacation. And as for the accent, I am Welsh,” she said happily. While Anwyn told him her story, John got a wicked idea. He found this an opportunity to test out his new abilities.