Clear Words of Unabashed Truth

Merlin was sitting in his tent, about to prepare something to eat, when suddenly the ground shook and people near him began to roar and flee in panic. Astonished, Merlin looked out of his tent and saw six large cyclopean spirits dragging their own corpses to where he was standing. "This can't be happening," Merlin said, slightly shocked. But no sooner had he gotten used to the sight than more spirits came flying from above. They brought with them chests of gold and other rare materials, as well as large clay pots filled with blood and other secretions.

When they stored everything behind Merlin's tent, the spirits wanted to leave quickly. But Merlin said angrily, "You wait here, or I'll leave this stuff unguarded. After all, you yourselves can also keep the things. You can forget about me doing this alone. If you have any complaints, feel free to report it to your master, but I don't think Mortis would take kindly to bandits or adventurers just grabbing his stuff."

That brought the spirits to a halt. Then one of them turned around, changed into human ghost form and bowed to Merlin. The spirit spoke, "You are right, our friend. Some of us should stay here until our master's wives arrive. But the others will return to report to the lord." The spirits then split up and began to protect the carcasses and treasures, while Merlin went into his tent to continue preparing his meal.

In Mortis's case, he was taken along with Elysia to the Baron after he recognized his niece and would not take no for an answer. Mortis liked the Baron right away and followed him, as there was no arguing with this man. When they arrived at the castle, priests and druids immediately came to take care of the baroness. The latter only nagged and demanded a bath and new clothes, while she asked everyone to watch Elysia so that she would not flee. Elysia's face turned pale when she heard her aunt's sharp tone as she said her name. Mortis noticed this and smiled mischievously. He checked the condition of his companions and found that Leroy and Casanova were recovering and doing well. Then he gave them the order to join Merlin and go to the border. While doing so, they should also make sure to get stronger, because even if they were of higher races, they were a bit of a disappointment to him.

While Elysia bathed with the Baroness, Mortis had to deal with Baron Darius, who was rather silent and looked at him deadly, like a stern father who is not pleased with the young man the daughter brought home. Mortis thought about how best to approach this situation. Just as he was going over the map to see where the nearest graveyards were to fulfill his quest, the Baron cleared his throat and spoke in a grumpy voice, "What are you going to do with Elysia, you dog? I don't care if you are the hero. I won't leave my sweet niece to you just like that. Even though you saved my beloved wife, I'm not giving you a free pass. My wife will be of the same opinion. Tonight I will tolerate you, but tomorrow you will be gone. In return for your help, you will receive a treasure, but not our most precious one."

Before the Baron could get any further into it, the door opened and Baroness Rose and Elysia came into the dining room in beautiful dresses, followed by some servants with little things to eat and something to drink. The Baroness sat down with her husband, who already had a red skull from excitement, and Elysia sat down next to Mortis, but not before presenting her dress and beauty to Mortis. The Baron would have loved to bite the glass, but he restrained himself, because Rose already had a grip on his arm and held it tightly like a vice. Then the Baroness smiled at Mortis and asked, "And my hero, how do you like my Elysia?"

Mortis, who was sipping his drink, almost choked. It seemed that the Baroness and her husband had completely different opinions, but both said freely what they thought. Mortis replied, "I like her very much, whether it's Elysia, Lucia, or Serena who's taking the lead right now. But why do you ask?" "Don't pretend, boy, you know very well why my wife asks," it blurted out angrily from the Baron. But apparently Rose really had her husband under control, because after this slip there was some pain on his face. This made Mortis smile, and so Rose reminded him of Helga, who also got physical when something didn't suit her.

Mortis didn't want to worry about that at all, especially not right now. He also didn't want to be unkind or hurt Elysia's feelings. So he said to Elysia, "I have some wives, and I would have no problem making you my wife. As a noblewoman, you would also have the right to act as my third wife. But you must be aware that I have other wives, and there are some rules as well as understanding to the others. There should be no problems, but I would have to send you to my other wives first to see how you get along with them. Because when I go home, I want harmony, not women at each other's throats. So if you want to be my wife, like me, you have to prove yourself. Then, if everything is right with both of us, we could gladly deepen our feelings further."

The souls in Elysia froze, and then tremendous chaos broke out. It seemed that this time Elysia took over the conversation, and she calmly said, "I think this is fair for everyone. What's the point of us loving one man if I couldn't stand his other wives? All right, tomorrow morning we'll set out to get to your wives. But remember, handsome, the three of us still need some attention. So let's not wait too long. Even though it's obvious that adventure is calling you, don't forget me. Oh, and maybe if you end up in Venice, you could help my mother, but in such a way that she doesn't notice that I asked you to. After all, I still don't like her. She even managed to get Serena to turn against her, and that's supposed to mean something. But blood is thicker than water, and I still don't wish her a miserable death."

Mortis nodded. For after visiting the nearby graveyards to finish his quest, he would go to Venice one way or another. Whether he could change anything, he didn't know, but even if he didn't and it really came to a battle, there were countless souls waiting for him, which would also move him forward again. He didn't say that out loud, but you could see the greed in his eyes. But before he could continue fantasizing, the Baroness spoke up. "Well, that takes care of my job as a good aunt, and I found a suitable mate for you faster than my silly little sister. When she finds out, she will howl with rage." Then the baroness laughed out loud and pulled her husband along with her. He was visibly upset by the conversation, but Rose's firm grip showed that there was more to talk about for today. So he swallowed the words he would have loved to throw at Mortis and followed his wife like a child about to be scolded.