Chapter Sixty-Nine“Welcome to Fort Rabble. Get in here before it gets dark!” That was all the greeting the scruffy Sun Temple guard gave them as he ushered everyone in. The wooden wall circling the fort with its single entrance was painted with so many wards, blessings, and charms against undead that it made Harmony’s nose itch. Adric crossed a strip of warding across the entrance threshold like it was nothing before they smmed the gate shut.

  Three Sun Temple guards gathered the horses and Sparky and led them to the stables. When one approached Bowe, the rainbow coatl looked at him and said “No.”

  A rge handsome man dressed a little finer than those who took the steeds away walked up to the guild mistress. “So, these are the charges you wrote about, guild mistress Thorne? Maybe they can take some of our problem children away.”

  “If we’re successful, expect more people coming here with a scroll of binding to do more than that. These Ascendant Games are causing a shift.” Thorne answered.

  “Certainly beats trying to send a culling squad. The spirits aren’t evil, merely misunderstood.” With that, he pivoted to Harmony. “And you must be Lady White. The temples wish to formally apologize for that incident at the Harvest. I assure you all the troops here have been screened for prejudices or harmful thoughts.”

  “I should hope so…”

  “Benji Highsmythe.” The knight introduced himself. It was not lost that he shared a family name with Rose and Adric.

  “Uncle,” Rosaline said with a short bow.

  “Come on, give me a hug.” He lowered his hand to his knee. “ I haven’t seen you since you were yay high, miss Problem Princess.”

  Rose, embarrassed by her nickname, gave the man a brief hug.

  Adric rushed up. “Uncle Ben!” He cried and moved into the knight's arms for a hug. “This man trained me when I got sent out here for disciplinary reasons, Harm.”

  When Adric mentioned being sent away a few times in his youth, he hadn’t mentioned many details about the deadwoods. How much did that influence his evolution options?

  “Last time I saw you, you looked like you had both feet in the grave and were waiting for the undertaker to pile on the dirt. Local spirits were asking when you were moving in. May I?”

  The question was half directed at Harmony. May he what? Adric was signally nonverbally for her to agree. “Sure?”

  The beam of white light that shot down from above, caused Harmony to yelp and hop back. The scent of strong cleaning agents or skills came with it, the kind that tingled your nose, left an area spotless, and peeled a yer off your skin. “Ashed sheets.” A chill crept into Harmony’s palms, ready to strike.

  Benji and Adric’s ughter echoed through the light as it dissipated. “They did worse than that at the Pace, uncle. Even the charter counselor cleared me.” Adric joked.

  “Had to check myself, boy. Gd to have you back. Damned miracle.”

  Why couldn’t they do something safer like punch each other in the shoulder? Boys! Harmony let the chill drop.

  “Gweh. Gweh. Gweh.” Hyacinth chuckled from the side.

  “Let me show you the sleeping quarters. There are eight of us here. Nine, if you count the Grave Society git, he’s at the hut closest to the spirit wall.“

  The whole fort was the hut, stables, three barracks, one for the Sun Temple guards and two others for lodging. One for the girls and one for the boys. Those sun priests could be prickly about that and controlled the fort.

  Being stuck with Rose, Jessica, and Thorne, Harmony missed Ambrosia. Bloody pits, after the long ride her sore muscles missed the magically heated tub. The lodging was six cots in a single-room building on a dirt floor.

  “Not what you were expecting Princess?” Thorne asked in response to Rose’s slightly aghast look.

  “I mean, I've heard stories. Uncle Benji’s exile and all.” She answered.

  “There used to be regur visitors here to commune with spirits or to activate one of the scrolls for a bonding spirit after conquering Old Bones, but popurity faded. The fort still has a valuable role in alerting the cities if anything powerful leaves the Deadwoods then past the spirit wall. But that doesn’t happen much. We have a good chance of getting you some powerful bonded for the Ascendant Games, by the guild’s dead god you need it.”

  Harmony wasn’t happy with the state of the room either. She shared a look with Jessica and both former maids nodded. [Dust] stripped off the dirt from the beds and the walls, shoving it into the ground with a little extra effort to compact it. [Mend] kicked in making sure it was good and set, so they wouldn’t track any back into the beds.

  Jessica moved to the beds themselves. She always did have a thing with linens. Soften the sheets, make the bed feel a bit more comfortable, and of course, her specialty was having them feel nice and cozy with a touch of her fire magic. A bit of mana and she recharged the faint glow stones lighting the room.

  “Ha. I need to work on my profession more since I evolved.” Jessica chuckled with a genuine smile on her face.

  “What did you get?” Harmony asked a bit weirded out by the generally light-heartedness in the woman. It was hard to forget the salty, older maid she’d been back at the manor.

  “Assistant Curator. I think having spent a few years helping keep Tyler’s collection safe from his own messes allowed me to get the option. Lady Coodly has resisted allowing me to be hired for that role. I figure if I can prove my value here it might help. I also have a job at a curio shop. I work there while Tyler is practicing for the Ascendant Games to raise my skills.”

  That was an interesting profession. “You do well here, and I’ll write a personal recommendation to the old Matriarch for you.”

  Harmony nearly jumped when Jessica embraced her in a hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Your word means so much to the old dy.”

  Guilt and shame hit like a gut punch mid-hug. She’d been thinking about how another body between her and Tyler would be good when the offer slipped out of her mouth. [Poise and Bearing] managed to get Harmony’s face under control by the time the long hug was done.

  “Good job, dies. I dare say the boys will be jealous of your work. We should get some sleep. It’s an early day tomorrow when you cross the spirit wall.”

  Harmony crawled into the cot grateful for the pervasive warmth baked into the bnket and mattress by Jessica’s skills. It helped melt away the stress and sore muscles from the ride. Once she achieved that level of rexation it made it exceptionally annoying when she was woken up in the middle of the night.