The kitchen staff retired to their rooms once their workspace had been cleaned up, still feeling off after the encounter with the strange custor earlier in the day.
A good night's sleep sounded like just what they needed to feel normal again, and the rest of the team wasn't far behind them. Though, Karl noticed that Wendy didn't make it to her room, and ended up with Ophelia.
With everyone in their rooms, Karl checked that the door was locked and walked up behind Dana to slide her dress up over her head.
She purred, literally purred, as his hands slid up her sides, then unequipped the dress and turned to face him.
"Really, you're flirting even now?" She asked.
Karl bumped his nose against hers, then licked the rim of her feline ear, which made Dana moan.
"I don't see why not. Besides, you're so soft in this form."
Unfortunately, she also had claws, as Karl realized monts later as they shredded his back.
Collateral damage.
The room was a disaster zone by morning, when Karl woke up on the bed with Dana in his arms and the blankets missing in action.
Dana shifted and locked her legs around him when Karl tried to get up, then purred contentedly as she fell asleep again. While Karl was in a similarly feline form, it seed that Dana had truly embraced the way of the cat after she had transford. She even kneaded biscuits with her hands when she was relaxed and sleepy.
Fifteen more minutes wouldn't hurt.
Karl got up and got dressed when he heard Davis co in for the morning. Most of the rest of the group was already at breakfast, but the Appraiser was hard at work getting everything ready for the day.
Karl took a plate from the cooks, and pretended that he couldn't hear the mournful sounds that Caretaker Jo was making upon discovering the disaster that was his room.
Dana looked incredibly embarrassed, and Karl realized that for the first ti, she could actually hear all the background noise and low conversations on the second floor. The hearing of her [Beast Form] was much more sensitive than her human body.
This morning, the shop was much more busy than yesterday, and Karl was upgrading the armour for Madam Shin all morning.
Remi was making potions while the apprentice Runesmiths worked so hard their fingers were cramping, but they were still barely keeping up with demand, and the wooden rings that Wendy had made last night were almost gone by noon when she ca in to restock them.
But she wasn't the only one finished with a project. Once Karl was finished with the last few pieces of Rune work, Rae and Loros had finished assembling the armour for the Governor's wife. All they had to do was send a runner to let her know that soone could pick it up. Or send soone to deliver it to her.
[I am a great delivery person. The best, you could say. Nobody can stop from making my delivery.] Rae agreed.
[Take Loros with you, so you don't get in trouble. She knows how things are done here.]
Karl knew that he was killing all of Rae's fun sneaking through the Palace, but he didn't know how badly they would take it if she was found in a restricted area.
She was going to see the City Governor's wife, so it wasn't like they were going to try to stop her from making her delivery.
Loros hardly had ti to process the news before they were gone. Rae had grabbed her and used [Shadow Step] to bounce between buildings until she reached the Castle gates.
A quick sniff of the air let her know that her target wasn't in the line outside the gates, so Rae moved behind the waiting employees with the confused sculptor.
"Lady Rae, are we really in such a hurry?" She asked, still dizzy from the rapid movent skill deploynt.
"Don't you want to see what the inside of the Castle is like? We've got the perfect chance, and we get to be praised for our skills when we get there." Rae explained with pride.
Loros saw the guards trying not to laugh as they heard her talking in the otherwise silent line. She hadn't been lowering her voice, she wasn't worried to have them know that she wanted to see the place while she was visiting.
As she rembered, they were going to give her an escort anyhow.
Sure enough, when they got to the gate, an Overlord Ranked Guard Officer was assigned to accompany them even before she had a chance to speak.
"Delivery?" The guard at the gate asked.
Loros bowed politely. "Yes, Sir. A custom ordered anniversary gift for the Governor's Wife."
The guard nodded. "Ordered by Madam Shin, or for her?"
"Ordered by her." The guard motioned for the waiting Overlord to guide them, and Rae noticed the mont that he activated a small green crystal.
A second later, it flashed green again, and he led them into the building.
Rae leaned over to get a better look at it. "Is that a communication crystal? To let you know if she's taking visitors or about to bite soone's head off?"
The Overlord chuckled at the curious Monster Woman. "Indeed. It is linked to one that the servants carry. You just choose which one you want to ssage, and they will reply with a green or red flash of light. We also use them for guard patrol check in.
You're with the War Champion, right?
What brings a foreign Guild Champion here to Drodh? I see that you've set up a branch house here in the city." It wasn't hard to tell that this was a more official question, sothing that they had been instructed to find out about if they happened to hear gossip on the topic.
"Politics. The War Champion was advancing too quickly for local leaders, and they were worried that we were going to get ideas about who should really be in charge." Rae replied with a wink.
The Castle Guard laughed. "So they kicked you out and told you to be soone else's problem? I don't suppose that you can tell us what the Matriarch ordered for the Governor, can you?"
Rae frowned. "He's not allowed to know. She says that it's a surprise."
The Guard laughed, which made the nearby servants look at them in shock.
"Oh, I won't tell him, and neither will the servants in this wing. But we do have a running bet on whether Madam Shin will manage to outdo herself this year. She went pretty wild last year, with a full renovation of the Governor's office."
Loros smiled at him, and Rae nodded her permission to share.
{It's a Monarch-Ranked set of traditional armour fully enhanced by a Runecrafter.} She whispered.
{Seriously?} The guard whispered back.
Loros and Rae both nodded, while the guard whistled in appreciation. "This I've got to see. Don't mind the intrusion. Assuming they let in."
Then he stopped at a door and politely knocked.
"Ah, my delivery. I got word that it was on the way. Please do bring them in." Madam Shin called from the other side, but the Guard didn't open the door, he waited for the maid inside to open it.
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