Chapter 5 Part 1

The date is August 19th of the year 266, Four years since the excursion of Dungeon Crearwy, and Christopher's 18th birthday. Don't worry, nothing bad is happening. Just wait, you'll see.

"Jasyn wants me to come to the manor? Why?" Christopher asks.

(Dime) I think he would want to tell you himself.

"Alright give me a few minutes, I just need to write down the rest of my thoughts for this new invention." Christopher says.

He turns back to his notes and glances at his left hand, admiring the engagement ring on his ring finger. He breathes a deep satisfied sigh. A blush fills in his cheeks. He draws a few hypothetical runes and spell circles to detail his research a little as a first template.

"Right, let's not leave my fiance waiting." He mutters. He pulls the chair out and stands, strengthening his suit. "Tari, what have I told you about Narrating out loud."

(Narrator) Oh god, first time doing this since you could see me, sorry about that. Now that you can see me, why not say what I look like for the records?

"It's been a good month since the first time I saw you, Tari. Why do I have to do this now?" Christopher asks.

(Narrator) Because I haven't written anything down in, maybe four years now. And it'll be good for whoever reads this to Finally know what I look like.

"Alright, just try to keep your narration in your head if you can. Listening to you say everything happening all the time is grating to the ears after a while." Christopher takes a good look at…me?

How do I write this down? Do I refer to myself in 3rd person now? I mean I was already doing that sometimes but I'll have to do it a little more often I guess.

"Let's see. Tari, or 'The Narrator'. Is a spherical entity appearing to be some ocean blue light that is brightest at the centre and muted towards the edges. You can often see strips of white travelling inwards towards the centre. Tari doesn't have any features but does seem to have a front as they can be seen turning to look at something…How was that?" He says analytically.

(Narrator) A perfect but clinical description as usual.

"Nothing wrong with repeating my research notes on you." he smiles. "Alright, I'm gonna ignore you now. My stud is waiting for me."

(Narrator) Rude.

Christopher shrugs at the comment and exits his home, taking a deep breath.

(Narrator) Yeah, so a ton fo stuff happened since the Dungeon. Awe, crap! A typo! NO! Fuck! Shit! Ass! Bitch! Dickhead! Cunt! I'm so out of practice man! A goddamned typo! I'll never live this one down.

(Nebulon) That's funny!

(Narrator) Ah! Nebulon? It's been a while. To think I missed you.

(Nebulon) Ah, well. Destroying Stocaea is a demanding job!

(Narrator) So how is your conquest going?

(Nebulon) Oh, well after over a decade it's in its final stages. As expected, every other nation refused to send aid so very soon King Shavik's plan will bear fruit. What's been happening here? It's been a while since anything was written down here so I wanted to be surprised like everyone else. When did the engagement happen?

(Narrator) Exactly one year ago today.

(Nebulon) Ah, poetic. I'm sure every birthday from now on will be magical to him.

(Narrator) Yeah, I cried when it happened. You already know this but Christopher can finally see me now.

(Nebulon) Yeah! I audibly gasped when I saw that. Make me choke on my tea.

(Narrator) Let's see…Oh, the dimensions are making substantial profits from crops. Lots of nations are taking advantage of Dime's imports. Oh yeah, not to mention that all four of the public dimensions have been set up and ready to accept citizens. A few refugees have travelled out from Stocaea to settle so that's good. About four-thousand give or take.

(Nebulon) That's great. How is the new country fairing?

(Narrator) It's not officially recognised by a couple of nations so not actually a country yet. However, general reception on it has been positive. Most of the door links have been set up, it's going to be a little bit before it's complete in Irejescorst and Tholvia, which is coincidentally the two who haven't fully recognised it yet.

(Nebulon) Ah! So exciting! Let's stop this here, otherwise you're gonna end up missing something.

(Narrator) See you Nebulon!

Phew, sorry about that. Let's see. Ah, there we go. Just outside Henrence Manor, Jasyn is covering Christopher's eye's. They are shuffling forward as Christopher giggles.

"What is it you wanted to show me?"

"Nuh-huh, you'll just have to wait and see." Jasyn says, a beaming smile on his face.

"Tari! Tell me what's going on!" Christopher chuckles.

"No! You can't get the wisp to tell you! That's totally not fair!" Jasyn almost trips as he laughs.

"Doesn't matter. He wouldn't have told me anyway. It would ruin his creative records." Christopher says.

(Narrator) You're damn right it would!

Christopher turns round and points to the sky at random, laughing up a storm. "Don't sass me you little shit!"

"Keep walking forward you dick! You almost broke away from me!" Jasyn jokes.

"Cmon! How much further?!" Christopher whines. "The suspense is killing me." he says with grit.

"There. You ready?" Jasyn asks.

"No! I'm fucking shitting myself!" Christopher exclaims.

"Alright, reveal in three, two, one!" Jasyn says, moving his hands away from his face.

"Happy Birthday!" a shit ton of people yell out.

"Welcome to your surprise birthday party babe! A few people couldn't make it but most of us are here." Jasyn says, giving Christopher a kiss on the cheek.

(Narrator) Hmm, let's see who's here. Looks like 15 in total. We have Heather, Haider, Heddwyn, and Beluf. Of course. Relive and Silus are here, and Ibun. Can't forget about her. Beerwolf is here, Beluf's pack beta I believe. Zoey is here! Wouldn't have expected that. Oh the other three in the 4 J's, Jocelyn, James, and Jamyl are here. Jasyn's childhood friends if you don't remember. And finally, 3 people I thought would have never been permitted to attend. Is the King with his wife Viridiana, accompanied by Beauregard. Is that 15? Did I mess anyone?

"Oh my god. Jasyn!" Christopher says. "This is amazing! How did you find the time to do all this?" he asks, looking round at the décor.

"We've all been planning it for a while. Dime helped us coordinate this gathering so people could be here." Jasyn says.

"Seriously?! You managed to hire The Moon Fairies? They're like, one of the most exclusive classical performers on the eastern continent!" Christopher says, gigging on the spot while holding Jasyn's arm. Soft melodic music plays in the background.

"That is one serious pile of presents!" Christopher exclaims. Staring at the four foot stack of birthday presents.

"And is that a panther statue?" Christopher asks.

"That's the cake." Jasyn says.

"Fuck off, no it is not!"

Jasyn's smile stretches from ear to ear as Christopher tugs on his arm. "Yeah, it really is!"

"I can't believe this guys! Thank you all for coming!" Christopher proclaims.

The first to approach Jasyn and Christopher are his dad's.

(Narrator) Oh, did I forget to mention they're husbands now? Yeah, they officially got married two-ish years ago. Nary a fight nor argument.

"Congrats on turning 18, Cub! Me and your father are so excited for you." Beluf says. "Lemme see the ring!"

"Oh yeah, that's right. You haven't had the time to come round recently." Christopher says, holding out his left hand.

Beluf takes his hand and looks at the ring. "Fuck off. This is better than my engagement ring! I don't even know what this thing is made of!"

"It's Mythril with a Blue Sapphire. Ibun forged it." Christopher says, waving the Dwarf over to them.

"Ah! Your engagement ring! Some of my finest work that. It's not easy, finding a blue sapphire. Surprisingly, the Mythril was easy to get in comparison." Ibun says, chugging down a pint of Tisk Honey Ale.

"I recognise that smell. How did you know? That's like, the only alcohol I'll drink." Christopher asks his fiance.

"Zoey mentioned it was your first ever drink. I didn't actually know it was your favourite. I just know you liked it. Since you only ever drink water, I thought this the best option for a celebration." Jasyn says.

"Everything is perfect. With all the love I can muster, you did an amazing job." Christopher kisses Jasyn on the lips, holding it there for a few seconds. Several people cheer, causing Christopher to break the kiss, his face flushing red. Jasyn stands there awkwardly, a little embarrassed.

"Let's go enjoy ourselves." Jasyn says, grabbing Christopher's hand. He drags him over to the band and takes his other hand.

"I don't know how to dance." Christopher laughs.

"That's ok." Jasyn smiles, placing Christopher's arms around his neck, forcing him to look up at him. Jasyn places his hands on his hips. They stare into eachothers eyes as they rock side to side to the slow angelic music.

(Narrator) This is so sweet! I'm gonna cry.

"I love you, Snugglebug." Jasyn says.

"I love you too, my Sugarloaf." Christopher replies.

(Nebulon) *snort* That's so corny. I love it!

(Narrator) Leave them alone, they're cute together.