“Morning, my heart,” Gregory mumbled as soft lips pressed against his, waking him up, before another pair of lips did the same. “And to you, dear one.”
“Time to get up,” Yukiko murmured.
“Training, then into the city for the day,” Jenn said as she got up.
Gregory grunted as he rubbed his eyes, then followed his wives out of bed. “Sparring with the Iron Hand today.”
“Oh, right, we did agree to that,” Yukiko said. “Hmm… we should invite Swift Wind over for sparring, too. We’ll be fighting alongside them soon.”
“It’s not a terrible idea,” Jenn said. “A little practice together could help.”
“Mention it to them tomorrow?” Gregory suggested as he got dressed.
“We should check if the Iron Hand will be okay with others joining in,” Jenn nodded.
“Might be for the best,” Yukiko said. “I’m not going to ring for Elsa today. We have to see if she’s paying attention.”
“Hmm… okay,” Gregory said slowly. “She might be waiting to know we’re awake, before she goes to get food.”
“She knows when we wake up,” Jenn said. “This is a test to see if she has initiative on her own.”
“I can see that,” Gregory conceded.
They filed out to the main room of their tent, taking seats and readying Magi Square blanks. When they were just about done, there was a cough from outside before the others came in. They exchanged greetings as everyone sat down, passed around the Magi Squares, then started working with little discussion.
As they were finishing, the tent flap opened and Elsa wheeled the food cart inside. She was wearing a happy smile as she brought it to the table. “Good morning. Today’s breakfast is different. The stall owner I’d gotten food from thought you might like to try a local breakfast.”
“I hope it’s one of the better ones,” Yukiko said warily. “Some of the local foods… are not great.”
“This is just potato, egg, boar, and cheese,” Elsa said as she uncovered the dishes.
Gregory frowned a little— the potato and meat had been finely shredded and cooked, then fused together with the egg and cheese. The whole thing had a disk shape, with the cheese melted over the top.
“Oh. Thankfully, this one is fine, but he likely didn’t season it much,” Yukiko said. “Bland is normal. The soup only has as much flavor as it does because of the stock.”
Elsa served them as they finished before taking a seat with her own plate. She understood the underwhelming response as she took her first bite. Beyond a hint of salt, almost no seasoning had been used at all.
“I’ll ask him to stick with the soup going forward,” Elsa said when she’d finished. “I’m sorry.”
“No, it was fine,” Clover said. “We learned something from it.”
“But the soup is a better idea,” Ling added.
“You’ll be on your own for dinner, Elsa,” Yukiko reminded her. “We’ll be home late. We’re visiting the city after training.”
“I’ll have everything in order when you return,” Elsa said as she collected plates.
“Mindie, are you going to spar with her in the tent?” Jenn asked.
“Yes. I think it’s helping both of us,” Mindie nodded.
“But first, the book,” Roshana smiled.
“Then, the Peaceful Fist,” Ling added.
“We also need to take time to try touching the ideas of the Resonant Mind,” Yukiko said. “We could use an edge against the Buldoun mages. If we can simulate their fighting with our aether, it would help.”
“After magic training, but before the bath?” Gregory asked. “All of us can try it.”
“That sounds good to me,” Roshana said, the others quickly agreeing with her.
“Every edge might help,” Mindie said.
With Elsa having collected the dishes, Gregory pulled the Resonant Mind book from his ring. “We’re getting pretty deep into it already, but let’s continue.”
~*~*~
Stepping out of the tent, Gregory gave Klim a grin. “Magus, is your clan ready?”
“We are,” Klim nodded. “No magic, just weapons. I’ll oversee the fights. We should be able to have three or four going at once.”
“That works for us,” Gregory said. “I did have a question: how would you feel about Swift Wind joining us for these sessions?”
Klim hesitated, then nodded. “To get used to them before you fight beside them?”
“To increase our chances,” Yukiko smiled. “Normal sparring, then a set where you match the others against the six of us.”
“I can support this. Have they agreed?”
“We’ll ask them tomorrow,” Gregory said. “Asking you first was prudent.”
“We bear no animosity to the Swift Wind clan. I take it you won’t be inviting the Eternal Flame?” Her lips twisted at the corners.
“That would be counterproductive,” Yukiko laughed.
“Agreed. Shall we begin?”
“We’re ready,” Jenn said.
“No stretching first?”
“We just got done,” Gregory laughed.
“Very well. Gregory, would you be willing to end with a spar against me?” Klim grinned.
“Guandao for today?”
“I accept,” Klim nodded. “Will you three be sparring with magic afterward?”
“We will,” Jenn said. “It helps us practice our magics.”
“And it’s always both of you against him?”
“It needs to be,” Yukiko snorted.
“You don’t mind us watching, do you?”
“Feel free,” Gregory said. “Who faces who first?”
“Marthman has asked to go against you…” Klim began before pairing off the others.
~*~*~
Sparring went well— Gregory thought Dave Marthman was a little too eager to fight him and his wives, and he wasn’t exactly happy when he lost all three fights. Everyone else seemed to learn, and maybe even have some fun. Klim beat Gregory with the guandao, but she praised him for getting better. Mindie and Klim both helped heal everyone at the end of the session.
For magic training, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn only worked on things people had seen before because they were being watched. Mindie stayed outside for that, healing a few injuries. No one exhausted themselves, but they got a good workout for their aether.
Saying their goodbyes to Klim and the Iron Hand, the group went back to Gregory’s tent to try working on the Resonant Mind. Finding the cavern was easy for all of them now, and they could recall the fights clearly. The problem was getting their aether to produce a fighter they could practice against the way the book described. When the hour ended, none of them had been successful, but they all had a better grasp of how each of the mages fought just from their memories.
They bathed, then were on their way into the city just after the tenth bell. They all chatted about who they might face tomorrow, killing time as they made their way to the city.
Entering the inn, the group chuckled when the Warlin guards applauded them. A few of the customers did the same, but a handful of others just muttered about the noise. The innkeeper asked the guards to tone it down, and they did.
“Ah, good, here they are,” Hao said, coming down the stairs. “We were just about ready to go.”
“Where are we going, Father?” Yukiko asked.
“To see the city, and maybe visit a shop or two. We’ll return here for dinner, but we have hours before then.”
The others started coming downstairs, chatting with each other before welcoming the magi. Umbrose and Ulga went around, hugging everyone, which got Yoo-jin to add in on that, too. There were mutters about public affection being uncouth from a few patrons, but none were loud enough for them to be worth responding to.
It was only a minute later that the much-larger group left the inn. A dozen guards surrounded them, acting as a cordon between the crowds and families. The conversation focused mostly on the fights, as their parents wanted to know more about them.
Gregory chatted with Hao, but he kept his eyes on their surroundings. He knew Hao would be leading them places with a purpose in mind, and he was trying to figure them out before they arrived.
The first stop was a surprise for the magi. The shop was nondescript on the exterior, but the interior had weapons on display. Adolphus examined them with a critical eye.
“I noticed that none of you are armed and I want to fix that,” Hao said. “You might never need them, but a good, serviceable weapon is never a mistake.”
“Father,” Yukiko smiled, “Greg, Jenn, and I are fine. We just keep ours in storage. We can have them in a blink.” Her sheathed wakizashi appeared in her hand. “If needed.”
“I remember your prizes from the last tournament,” Hao smiled. “This is for your friends.”
The other four women blinked at him in surprise, not having expected that. Their surprise had Jenn and Gregory chuckling, as they’d been in that place before.
“Now, what weapons do you four prefer?” Hao asked.
“Staff,” Clover said. “Three of us prefer staves.”
“While I am at home with sai,” Roshana added. “But, sir, we’re just—”
“Special to my daughter,” Hao cut her off lightly. “Her friends are all special. Anyone who brings my Yu joy will be treated well.”
“It’s a fight you can’t win,” Gregory told them. “Jenn and I were in that exact place once before, too.”
“Thank you,” Ling said humbly. “We’re honored to be special to Yuki and to your entire family.”
The others chimed in one by one, bowing to the inevitable.
“Good. Let us find the best weapon for each of you,” Hao said. “Adolphus?”
“Master-quality work,” Adolphus said.
“Thank you,” a gruff voice said. The man looked similar to Adolphus, stocky and a touch short. His blonde hair was tied back behind his head, and his beard was cut short. “My receptionist came to get me when you entered. Not often do we get a group of magi in. How can I assist you?”
“I need your three best staves and a pair of sai,” Hao said, moving to the front. “The magi aren’t fighting in the tournament, but I would like to see my daughter’s friends with the means to defend themselves.”
The half-dwarf nodded slowly. “My best weapons hold enchantments.”
“Excellent,” Hao said. “Will you accept a bond?”
“Let me examine it first,” the weaponsmith said, extending his hand.
“Enchanted?” Mindie whispered. She leaned in closer to Yukiko, “Yuki, maybe w—?”
Yukiko put her lips almost directly onto Mindie’s ear, speaking as softly as she could, “Any wife of ours needs a good defense.”
Mindie’s mouth snapped shut and her cheeks burned brightly, but she bowed her head. “I have heard your words.”
“Good,” Yukiko said brightly. “When it comes time to select which one suits you best, take your time. Consider this a welcoming gift.” Her eyes swept over the other three as she spoke.
They bowed their heads to her, understanding that this was her will. She wanted them as protected as she could, which made all of them happy.
Jenn and Gregory exchanged a smile, both remembering their own attempts to accept what would be with Yukiko’s generosity. It was a generosity that extended to her entire family.
