Chapter 2 Lessons

  “Regicide.” Magnus Redison, the reigning Kingsmen champion of the Altian Kingdom, told the Lord of Darkness after their fifth game.

  “Damn, I thought I had you there, good game.” Isaac congratulated him as they both moved to reset the board.

  “Not to be the bearer of bad news, boys, but it is two hours past dinner.” Lenna told the pair of young master Kingsmen players. Isaac was a master by all accounts, just for being able to give Magnus a challenge, but that didn’t mean that he had won even a single time.

  “Oh, wow, yes, I am famished, thank you for making light of that, Lady V’Nova.” Magnus said with a seated bow.

  “And if I win a game because you are sleep deprived then it will hardly feel like a win.” Isaac stated while rising to his feet which made Magnus do the same out of a requirement of proper etiquette.

  “You have come close but not that close.” Magnus countered. “I am the champion after all.”

  “The only way that I will not be able to take that title from you is if you die before I beat you.” Isaac shot back. “So don’t go croaking on me.”

  Magnus smirked. “Knowing that you have an incentive to ensure my survival is payment enough for our lessons.”

  “Oh? Lessons is it?” Isaac questioned the grand master with a raised eyebrow.

  “And with that, I bid the Lord and Lady a good night.” Magnus dodged Isaac’s question with a bow and a bid of farewell.

  Once the duo and the grandmaster had gone their separate ways, Isaac turned to Lenna. “Damn arrogant bastard that one.”

  Lenna chuckled and shook her head. “Finally met your match, have you?”

  Isaac turned a flat look on her. “Yes.” He replied just as flatly which only made Lenna laugh. Her laugh was a beautiful thing, pure and resonant yet not loud or commanding. It was smooth and genuine in a way that only one of Lenna’s natural laughs could be. It brought a smile to Isaac’s face. “Thank you.” He told her after her laughter had stopped.

  “For what?” Lenna wondered.

  “For this.” He said and gave a general gesture as if all of their lives were spread out before them. “The organ lessons, the Kingsman games, the play about the Lunar Centurion, and the access to the concert hall’s piano every night. I might not remember the rest of my birthday presents, but I cannot imagine any better ones than these.”

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  “Isaac, you are the first and second greatest gifts that Lua has given me.” Lenna told him with a smile so complete that Isaac felt his heart dissolve under the onslaught.

  “What are the top five?” Isaac asked his wife once his mind caught up with what she had said.

  “Meeting you, bringing you back, sending me away from Contantis, giving me a hug, and teaching me to play the violin.” Lenna listed them off easily. There were plenty of other gifts that the goddess had given her but those were definitely the top five.

  Isaac chuckled. “Did you just have a list on hand?” He wondered.

  “I had thought about it once and the list has had no reason to change since.” Lenna replied.

  Isaac shook his head with a chuckle. “Well, you are Lua’s greatest gift to me too.” He told her and planted a kiss on her lips. It was only then that Lenna remembered that they were sitting in a restaurant and plenty of people were either actively staring at them already or were passively aware of them. The attention during the personal and romantic moment made her face color.

  Lenna cleared her throat. “When are we going to get our food?” She asked in an attempt to change the topic away from something that would embarrass her. Isaac’s only reply to her obvious shift was to laugh.

  Soon enough the duo had spent a week on Altesia enjoying all of Isaac’s favorite things. They ate good food, listened to good music, read great books, learned to play the organ and played plenty of violin and piano, spent every hour of every day in each other’s company, and played Kingsmen, a lot of Kingsmen. Isaac never ended up winning against Magnus, despite the twenty games they played over the week that they had known each other, but Isaac had come close enough to make Magnus sweat on three separate occasions. He did, however, reach a level where he properly understood the ins and outs of the organ and just needed practice, a lot of practice, but that could be done without a teacher as long as he could get his hands on an organ. The royals never felt the need to invite Isaac and Lenna back for another meeting but that was to be expected, they were busy people and if they hosted the duo too many times then it would look like they were trying to curry favor with the duo and that would detract from their image in noble society.

  It was after all of these things that Isaac and Lenna woke up on the morning of the last day of the first month of the twelve hundred and seventy-eighth year of the current era. A day that was bound to be packed to the brim. Not only was it the day of the Adventurers’ Guild hosted auction but it was also the day that the new lenses for Lenna’s helmet were going to be finished and Isaac’s gear was ready to be picked up from the Smiths’ Guild. They were going to have a busy day and then come the next day, it would be time for the duo to say goodbye to Altesia and return home. They had already been gone for two weeks and if they were being honest, it felt like two weeks too long, even if the second week had been a much needed and greatly appreciated vacation.

  “First stop, breakfast.” Isaac said as soon as he was dressed and ready to go. Lenna wholeheartedly agreed and the duo devoured the inn’s provided breakfast with gusto.

  Next they picked up Lenna’s new sunglasses. The shape was the same as her first pair, a bit uncomfortable but manageable and completely vision encompassing, but they were unfortunately a little heavier from the metals now woven throughout. The price was a bit steep but that was what one paid for good quality at a good speed. Something could only ever be two of the three cornerstones; Cheap, High Quality, and Quickly Made.

  Next, the duo dropped by the Functionary Building in the Smiths’ Guild territory. The functionary at the desk asked for them to wait while someone went to fetch Isaac’s repaired armor. They only had to wait for around five minutes before the assistant returned with not only the armor but also the smith who had repaired it.

  Isaac’s expectations on what a master smith should look like had been tailored by stories and Stan Ironeye, so what he was met with was anything but what he expected the smith who worked on his gear to look like. Instead of an old dwarf or wide shouldered human in his fifties, Isaac and Lenna were met by a half elf young man who looked like he was hardly eighteen and had the most vibrant maple red hair and fern green eyes that Isaac had ever seen. Not only did he look like a child, but his gear was also not what Isaac was used to. Instead of the simplest of aprons and gloves that Stan used, this young smith had a pair of goggles pushed up to be across his forehead, instead of over his eyes, and a set of gloves in his apron that were positively covered in enchantments. The gloves were by far the thinnest leather gloves that Isaac had seen a smith use. Whoever this smith was, he was bound to have some character, especially if he left his forge just to see his client when the Smiths’ Guild specifically existed to ensure that such interactions were rarely if ever needed in the first place.