Chapter Thirty-Nine Phillip’s Day (Patreon)

Phillip walked down the street. Next to him the little lady he had rescued stuck close to him. Unfortunately the girl's mother hadn’t made it. Her wounds from her ordeal with the ogre had been too great. As that ogre had been especially brutal towards that poor young lady’s mother. His feelings about that were rather mixed. On the one hand, her mother did not have to deal with the trauma of being brutally raped by an ogre, but on the other her daughter was left bereft of the only family she had left.

He would love to be able to simply give the poor girl a home. It was always a shame when young children got shuffled off to orphanages. He had seen that happen to far too many children. Phillip, as much as he wished otherwise, didn’t exactly have a home to give. While he knew Emily would be willing, he wasn’t going to burden her with an extra child. She had her own daughters to look after, and after what happened to her husband she was a single mother. This girl would need someone who could look after her, and give her their undivided love and attention. She would need lots of hugs, kisses, cuddles, and a strong guiding hand. While she had not been raped by the ogre herself, the little lady was sure to have been traumatized by the experience.

There was only one person that came to mind, that could offer the poor little girl everything she needed. Phillip had thought of his own mother, the Matriarch of his family. She had been around for a while, and her connections had already been of use helping the others hurt by the ogre. The Rosewood knights and the church of the dragon had both supplied aid to the stricken villages as well. There was something about the church that struck him as odd, but some of the knights seemed off as well. Nothing that seemed worth looking into, not right away, anyway. He would have mentioned it to his old buddies, but they were a kingdom away. With their own problems. So the oddities would have to wait. He didn’t think it would be much of an issue, he had seen none of the usual red flag signs. They just seemed a little odd, but he could not put his finger onto why. In fact he might be making an issue out of nothing.

In any case, he had found his way to his hometown, to see his mother. His hometown of Blackmist was part of a quaint little no-name kingdom hardly anyone outside of the local area knew and located between the Theocracy and the Rosewood Empire. There wasn’t much to say about the small little kingdom. It only had three cities to its name and not much else. In fact, it was of so little note that the two more powerful kingdoms neighboring it ignored it. At least they had, in recent years they had been getting an influx of priests, trying to convert the citizenry. Along with the newfound attention from the Theocracy had come a rash of new problems. Thankfully it seemed that it was starting to blow over. A sign perhaps that their efforts were working, at least here. It didn’t help how much worse things were getting in the Theocracy.

They turned a corner, and the shops opened up to give way to larger houses. They were entering the nicer parts of the town, where his mother’s estate was located. His sister Emily also lived in the kingdom, but she had moved out of Blackmist to a smaller town to the east. The town of Dark Blossom. She had gone there with her husband years ago, to set up shop as an alchemist. The place had once been the site of an ancient gate to the Infernal Plains and was known for unique alchemical ingredients as a result. The town itself was warded against the magical energies present in the area, but the surroundings were not. Great place for an alchemist, and it was known for its unique crops. In some ways, the town was the only true resource of note the kingdom had to its name. Although not much, there were several towns in the Empire alone that had active gates nearby which resulted in more potent, more valuable crops of the same order. With greater dangers to go with it.

He pushed those thoughts aside, and turned towards the door of a lovely two story house with an expansive garden, and a large ornately carved wooden door. The walls were made of polished stones, and it had a solid clay roof. It was smaller in fact than some of the neighboring homes, but that made it no less impressive a structure. His family had wealth and standing, and the house reflected that.

Looking down he gave the little lady a smile, he hoped was reassuring, “Okay we are almost there. This is where I grew up.”

She looked around, glancing at the house, and the garden.

“Are you a noble?”

He sighed, “Sort of. We don’t have any fancy titles though.”

She didn’t say anything, but he could see the awe in her cute face. A moment later, he reached the door, and reached to knock. To let his mother know he was here. Only it seems someone must have been watching as the door swung open. Mom never really believed in having a huge staff of servants like the neighbors did, but she did have a couple of housekeepers to help out.

Standing there to greet him was one of them, a younger unfamiliar face. Well not entirely, she was familiar enough that he could guess who she was. The housekeeper smiled, “Good Day Phillip, it’s been awhile. Your mother is waiting for you in the sitting room.”

“Thank you,” he replied, having figured out who she was. She had grown up since he last saw her, and taken over her own mother’s duties it seemed. Either that or she had started helping around the house. The young wolfkin housekeeper had been but a pup when he last saw her, but it had been a few years since he had been home.

She crouched and smiled, “Why hello there. You must be the little lady Phillip wrote us about. Would you like something to eat or drink?”

The girl shyly clung to Phillip’s leg, and shook her head. Phillip gave the housekeeper a wry smile. Before gesturing towards a door, and making his way into the building. The housekeeper closed the door behind them before following along.

Sure enough he found his mother in the sitting room as the maid said. It had been a few years since he had last seen her, she remained much as he remembered her. Her hair had long since become a steel gray, any hint of the vibrant purple hues she once had long gone. Yet her skin remained rather smooth and free of wrinkles. Her eyes were a piercing green that shone like gems and held a depth of wisdom from her many years and were still filled with strength. Her beauty hadn’t much faded, and she had quite the presence despite her rather diminutive stature. She was barely a hundred and forty centimeters tall, which wasn’t unusual in the family.

He smiled, “Mother! It’s good to see you.”

She looked up from the cup she was holding, and smiled. “Glad to see you made it home alright. I hear you picked up a poor girl. Is that her?”

He reached behind himself, and pushed the little lady forward, “Yes, may I introduce Lilyn.”

Mother smiled, “Well aren’t you a cutie!”

The girl darted back behind Phillip, and then glanced out from behind him. He sighed. His mother just giggled, and then presented her empty hands. A moment later she flexed her fingers, and light flared up from her palms before revealing the most beautiful array of flowers.”

The little girl giggled upon seeing that.

“Ah, like flowers do we? Or was it the magic? I know a few more tricks. Care to see them?”

She nodded, and Phillip settled onto the opposite sofa from his mother. Lilyn climbed up on the sofa next to him. Curling up against him, as his mother did one of her little magic shows. He had always enjoyed them as a child, and even now it was still entertaining to watch her do her tricks. With her typical flare, she manipulated the elements to delight, and told a story at the same time.

After a while, young Lilyn was leaning on the edge of her seat, her attention rapt, and giggling. Clearly enjoying the show. As it helped break the ice between Lilyn, and Mother.

Phillip shifted in his seat, and took a sip of the tea the housekeeper had brought him. In front of him, Lilyn was settled on Mother’s lap enjoying a sugary treat. The housekeeper had brought a plate of cookies a few minutes ago, and Lilyn very much seemed to be enjoying them. That, and the head pats Mother was giving her. As she was cutely pressing her head into Mother’s hand.

“You know, Phillip. When I was asking you for a grandchild, this wasn’t exactly what I was imagining. Are you ever going to settle down?”

He sighed, “I’ve been looking to retire from the field, and take up a job as a guild master. I haven’t had much luck, yet.”

“You have? Why didn’t you tell me you were looking for a Guildmaster position? I could have easily helped you.”

Phillip looked up wearily, “I was hoping to surprise you honestly. I even had a near miss recently. If I had been a little faster, I would have had a guild.” he shifted, “Although I guess if I had been a little faster, I would not have met Lilyn. So it’s not all clouds.”

Mother glanced down at Lilyn, who had finished her cookie, and was now snuggling against her clearly tired. It had been awhile since they arrived. “Lae? Is the room I asked you to prepare ready?”

“Yes ma’am. I even dug Emily’s old toys out of storage. I also spoke with the tailor, and she will be here tomorrow morning to help organize a wardrobe for the little lady.”

She smiled, “Glad to hear that. If you could put Lilyn to bed for me, that would be nice. I’d like to talk more with Phillip.”

Lae nodded and approached. Mother then handed off the little girl to the larger wolfkin housekeeper. Lilyn simply snuggled against Lae, pressing her face into her breasts. Phillip watched them go for a moment and then focused his full attention on his mother.

“So what did you want to discuss?”

She chuckled, “We haven’t seen each other in a few years. I was hoping to catch up. Still friends with old Kuron, and that sister of his Kazi, right?”

“Yeah, I am. Just haven’t really been in touch, since he went back to Bluewood to attend that wedding. Although he did write me a letter saying that he had gone to Rosewood for a quest.”

“Oh, interesting? On a different note, are the two still oblivious to their love for each other?”

He chuckled, “Oh, yes. Kazi especially is in complete denial about her not-so-sisterly love for Kuron. Kuron seems to realize it, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking other girls to bed.”

She chuckled, “That sounds like the young prince alright. Anyway, I think he did invite you to that wedding. You never did tell me why you left?”

“It was starting to get a little awkward. I often felt like a fifth wheel, what with everyone else being his lover and all. Not that Kazi seemed to realize. Hell, I swear Telmari was always trying to get the two siblings into bed with each other, she still didn’t act. I needed a break from that. I like them and all, but...”

Mother shook her head, “I’m sure they will grow out of it, but at least one of them seems to have the right idea. Which reminds me, have you found anyone special yet?’

He looked away, “um... no”

She gave him a look, “Phillip dear! Really? Not one? You haven’t found one girl that makes your heart flutter?”

He shook his head.

She sighed, “You are almost ninety years old, your father was less than half that when he courted me. Hell your sister isn’t even 40, and she already has three kids, and had a lover. Shame what happened to him.”

Phillip sighed, “Have you found any leads?”

“One that led back into the Theocracy, but the trail went cold there. I’ll let you know when I find his killers or the rest of him.”

He shuddered, as he remembered what those bastards had done. They had taken him in the market, tortured him, killed him, and then dumped his severed limbs in the market with a recording crystal on top. He remembered how distraught Emily had been after that. It had taken her months to put her life back together. It didn’t help that she had been shackled with young kids, her youngest wasn’t even born when it happened. While little Celine had been a young toddler, she barely knew her father, and likely didn’t remember him. They had largely been spared the grief thanks to that, but little Chloe had been devastated.

“Please do! They have blood to pay.”

“Yes, they very much do. Bastards like that deserve to suffer. May the gods cast their souls into the abyss, where they belong.”

He shuddered. While he had never dealt with the creatures of the abyss, he had heard the stories. They were twisted evil beings that brought suffering everywhere they went. Fortunately only the lesser ones ever escape the abyss, but even those were truly terrible creatures. “I’m not sure I would wish that fate on anyone.”

She nodded, “it might be a bit much.”

He glanced at the window, and noted it was getting late. “Might be about time I leave.”

Mother gave him a look, “You sure about that? We don’t see each other often, and I could use the company. I even had Lae get your old room ready, in case you chose to stay the night.”

He blinked, “I guess.”

“Not to mention it might be best for you to stay for a couple of days. Little Lilyn seems really attached to you. I don’t think she would take you leaving suddenly all that well. Besides, you look like you could use a little relaxation.”

He sighed, “alright! You win. I’ll stay the night.”

She smiled, took a sip of her own tea. Then replied, “Glad to hear it.”