The Feast

“I dun wanna get uuuuuuuuuuppppppppp!” a drowsy John told Idena as she attempted to wake up the king. Sadly for Idena, the king was still quite tired. Something Idena had found odd since John had never really been this tired since he gained his new powers and normally only slept around four hours at most, not the six he was currently up to.

“My king, you must get up! The cooks are almost done, the feast is about to begin, and you need to get dressed!” cried the harpy in charge of the king’s protection. She had stayed by his side after the recent adventure they had to endure thanks to Mimi and Yatina, to ensure that he remained safe from any other threats. John, in his attempt to sleep more, merely rolled over onto the opposite side of the bed from Idena. “Do I have to go get Mimi and Yatina? I’m sure they’ll love to play Derp The Snek with you!” a coy Idena told her king. When the words Idena said registered in John’s brain, he immediately shot up, the blanket on him flew to the bottom of the bed.

“I’m awake! I’m awake!” cried John, in no way did he want to deal with those two girls so soon after their adventure through the multiverse. A sigh escaped his lips as he threw his legs over the bed and got up, his naked form free for Idena to take in.

“Don’t forget what you promised me, master!” a stern Idena told John, her loins ready to take her master’s tool at any moment. John, meanwhile, gave her a big smile as he touched her cheek, her hand instantly shot up to grab and hold his, an instinct at this point.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten,” John told her in a sweet voice, he fully intended to fulfill her needs soon. “But I think we should look for this Dargon fellow after we deal with the Order,” John said as he opened his inventory and began to equip his clothes. “I believe he may help with tempering Mimi’s more impulsive actions,” John finished as he was fully clothed. “I suppose we should make our way to the dining room, eh?” John said as he grabbed Idena by the waist and moved towards the door.

“Honored guests and citizens of Tenebris, I give you our King: John Newman!” announced Gali, to thunderous applause. John stopped briefly and gave a bow to his guests before he and Idena made their way to their seats.

“I would like to thank you all for being here,” started John as he made eye contact with both his friends he had gained over his short time in the Abyss as well as his royal guests whom he had just forged an alliance with. “We sit here today to not only feast, but to celebrate a union between the Kingdom of Tenebris and the Elven Kingdom of Thorador! Alone, we would both most certainly lose to our enemies! But together? Together...together we can overcome our enemies and persevere! We will drive back the Order! We will drive back the orcs! We. Will. Win!” roared a boastful John to a round of applause combined with many hoots and hollers from the elven warriors. The cheering went on for a good five minutes as everyone there wanted to have one last happy moment before the war eventually reaches them in their new hideaway. After everything died down a bit, Princess Sylva stood up and brought a spoon to her glass to gain the room’s attention.

“What a wonderful speech, King John, truly inspiring. I, too, share his sentiment. Alone, our kingdoms would surely crumble, but together, together we can defeat our foes and ensure safety and security for our peoples. When these wars are over, our two kingdoms shall be closer than any kingdoms before and we shall rule in a new era of peace!” the princess said with a soft smile on her face. Her true nature of wanting to rule over a peaceful kingdom came to bare, a peaceful woman **** to fight to survive and keep her kingdom intact. Little did she know John’s true, long term intentions.

A Few Hours Later

John looked around as everyone feasted and talked merrily. Miho and Mikuru were talking to a brother and sister that had come with the princess. The two seemed to be a part of her sabotage group that had worked behind enemy lines. It seemed that the twins had taken an interest in the two and were flirting heavily, which was reciprocated by the two. John smiled at this as he moved on to Gali, who seemed to have gathered a large number of elven converts to her religion of him. She was regaling the young ladies in both his battles in barriers and in bed. The young girls seemed more interested in the latter than the former.

John’s eyes scanned the room some more, his vision floated between various groups of people happily chatting while they ate their food, shared a drink, or even a kiss. John knew he had to protect this feeling they all had, of safety and security. Of a kingdom where they naught to fear but what to do that day. I will defeat you Moira. You and your father and anything you throw at us! I will not let these people suffer! John thought to himself as he continued to watch.

He saw that Yuria moved from one part of the table to the other, collecting empty plates, dropping off new food, or just refilling glasses. It seemed she had quickly adapted to her new role as a **** and agreed to work in the kitchen without question. A quick scan revealed that Vanessa was nowhere to be seen.

“Idena, where is Vanessa?” he asked his Kingsguard, who refused to leave his side the whole time. She remained vigilant even as she ate her food and drink. She refused to leave his side so much that John eventually had someone bring her a chair to sit next to him but slightly behind him so she could see everyone in the room.

“It seems she was being rather disagreeable about her new role, so I had her put into the dungeon for the time being. She’ll stay there until you decided to deal with her,” Idena informed John, who nodded as she spoke.

“Yes, I’ll have to deal with her soon. She needs to learn her new place, like you did. And look how much more happy you’ve become once you accepted your fate,” John said with a smile full of love for his harpy. Idena returned the smile.

“Yes, master. She needs to learn that she lives to serve you, just as I do. I was similarly unruly and refused to accept my place but once you showed me the way, I was able to spread my wings and reach new heights!” she happily exclaimed.

“Looks like our guests are enjoying themselves. Something tells me it has been quite a while since they were able to have a relaxing evening together,” observed John as he looked over to Princess Sylva, Grand Enchanter Aliressa, and Ranger General Koranc. The three laughed as they shared stories, drinks, and food. It was clear that their war with the orcs had driven their morale down and brought a large amount of stress on them all. Now they had a chance to blow off all that steam and relax. John and Idena made their way over to the group to share their good times with those three, to help boost the morale of everyone.

Meanwhile in a Cave Past the Warden Woods

“Transportation complete. We are in enemy territory,” reported a slim looking male figure, who had a set of night vision goggles on and held a tablet in his hand that seemed to receive information from a drone that flew around the cave. “There are no hostiles in the immediate area,” he finished.

“Excellent news, Second Inquisitor. Third Inquisitor, are the communications up and running?” asked Fran as she turned to face a slender feminine frame.

“Yes, Grand Inquisitor. We have received confirmation signals from Brighton Manor. We are good to go with our mission. Although Lord Brighton is upset you did not wait for the Warden to assist us,” she told Fran. Fran scoffed at the idea of Moira assisting them.

“That would defeat the whole purpose of this, wouldn’t it?” Fran told her squad, who all had a good laugh at Moira’s expense.

“Third and Fifth Inquisitors will stay here. Myself, along with Second and Fourth Inquisitors will go with me to extract the target. Everyone understand?” asked Fran, the answer already known.

“Aye!” they all said in unison.

“Then let’s bag us a warlock!” Fran said as she marched out of the cave.