Chapter Five Hundred and Twenty-Two - A New Chapter in Your Life

    "Booksie!" I cheered, though I tried not to be too loud about it.

    I met the Bun out by the side of a large warehouse that Amaryllis had rented out and emptied for the occasion. It wasn''t the prettiest building, but it was one of the only ones in the entire city large enough to accommodate dragons, with enormous doors all along one side of the building.

    Right now, it was set up as more of an open pavilion than a warehouse of any sort. There were draperies all over and a good chunk of money had been spent repainting the entire space.

    I was pretty sure the city had even cleaned out the area around here, making it prettier to look at. It helped, because this wasn''t in the nicest parts of Port Royal.

    Peeking past Booksie, I could make out half a dozen dragons, some with their heads partially in the warehouse-turned-reception hall, others gathered outside. They were snacking on half-loaves of bread and wheels of cheese.

    "Hi Broccoli," Booksie said. She smiled, then opened her arms for a hug. "Come on, I need some energy."

    "Aww!" I said before returning the hug. "Is everything okay? I''m sorry I couldn''t be there to help with the reception."

    "Oh, it''s fine," Booksie said. "Well ... mostly fine. A smaller dragon went overboard with the wine -- by the fourth cask they were very drunk. Oh, and Cholondee either has a crush on -- or wants to fight -- one of the guests. And one of the chefs fainted when a dragon tried to complement his cooking."

    I blinked. "Why?"

    Booksie looked a bit embarrassed. "The dragon may''ve gotten a bit too enthusiastic. And leaned in too close. While showing too many teeth." She paused. "But otherwise, things have been pretty calm"

    I gave her a last squeeze before letting the hug go. Booksie looked fine, other than looking like she had had a long day. The cosmetic magic layered on her was still making her glow, and she''d never been prettier. Booksie smiled, and I saw her gently touch the ring carefully placed on her finger.

    "Where''s Rhawr?" I asked.

    "Oh, he''s chaperoning his mom back home. I don''t think he wanted to leave me here, but... well, she also got into the wine. I didn''t know that dragons could even get drunk. She''s very weepy when inebriated, you know?"

    I placed a hand over my mouth to keep the giggles in. "No! She was crying a bunch during the wedding."

    "I saw! I think it''s sweet. She''s very proud of her, ah, little baby boy." Booksie grinned, and I think she''d just gotten her hands on some good teasing material. "He should be back in a few. He said he was going to make sure she was nestled in her hoard correctly before returning."

    "Good, good," I said with a happy sigh. The sky was already turning the darker blue of incoming night. The day wasn''t over yet, but... well, my feet were kind of ache-y and I could definitely use a nap.

    "So... I didn''t get the full story, but I did notice the people working security getting nervous, and then you ran off with Awen and the others for a while. What happened?" Booksie asked.

    "Oh, sorry. We didn''t want to worry you," I said.

    "It''s fine. I''m assuming whatever it was is taken care of?"

    "More or less." I shifted a bit. "So, you know Rainnewt?"

    "Did he show up? Rhawr promised he''d take a nibble out of him if he tried to ruin the day," Booksie said. The way her eyes narrowed, I was more worried that she might do more than just nibble the man.

    I shook my head, then paused. "Uh, sorta? He sent a gift. A letter, a countdown timer, and a book. I''ll show you the book later, I guess. You might be able to tell what it''s all about."

    "That''s... not ideal. Did he leave a return address, perchance?" Booksie asked sweetly. I think she might have sent more than just a strongly-worded letter back.

    "No, nothing like that. Too bad too. We''ll have to look at the book later, but apparently it has something to do with Black Avatars?"

    "Like the fairy tales?" Booksie asked.

    I shrugged. "Maybe? I don''t have a good background to know what the fairy tales around here are like."

    Booksie nodded along at that. "I suppose not. Still, I can''t imagine he''s up to any good, but I''m happy that he didn''t show up himself to cause trouble. Unless this was the precursor to even worse news?"

    "Nope!" I said. "That was it. I think the Mages Guild and the Exploration Guild got a bit spooked about the gift, the guard too, but that was mostly them being worried about some sort of attack. But... nothing happened?"

    185?

    Mana

    170?

    Resilience

    80?

    Flexibility

    95?

    Magic

    40?

    Skills Rank Cinnamon Bun Bun Skills Cleaning S - 28% Way of the Mystic Bun C - 100% Gardening D - 59% Adorable D - 100% Chivalry E - 87% Wonderlander Skills Mad Millinery D - 100% Proportion Distortion C - 43% Social Butterfly D - 100% Snoozing D - 86% General Skills Insight C - 100% Makeshift Weapon Proficiency C - 100% Archeology D - 100% Friendmaking C - 100% Hugging Proficiency C - 100% Captaining C - 100% Cinnamon Bun Bun Skill Points

    5?

    Wonderlander Skill Points

    7?

    General Skill Points

    6?

    First Class Skill Slots

    0?

    Second Class Skill Slots

    0?

    General Skill Slots

    4?

    "Anything good?" Booksie asked.

    "I''m getting close to a new Wonderlander skill," I said. "And soon I''ll have a third class! We did so many dungeons that I don''t even remember all of the options I''ve got! But it''s a heap!"

    "That''s fantastic," Booksie said. "I''m just worried that you might need that power up sooner rather than later."

    "Why do you say that? Because of Rainnewt?" I asked. We moved to the back of the room where a long table was stacked with the remains of finger foods of all sorts.

    Booksie nodded along while plucking up some tiny tomato things on skewers with cheese balls. "Exactly. That, or some other troubles. You and your friends have been in the limelight for a while now. That means lots of attention, good and ill. The stronger you appear, the more people will hesitate to poke at you, but also, the more they will feel like they must poke at you. That''s an important lesson that I picked up from all the dragons."

    "I guess they''d know," I said. "I don''t know about impressing people. I''m just happy that I''ve made good friends, that I get to go on big adventures, and that I get to see the world. Numbers going up is nice, but it''s not what I want to live for."

    Booksie smiled. "That''s okay too. In fact, that might be a better way to enjoy things."

    I nodded. I thought it might be. But then, what did I know? I was just a silly, happy bun.

    ***