When Mordecai, Moriko, and Kazue exited their lodgings, they found an escort waiting who swiftly led them to Queen Perenne, the scent of evening roses wafting about her in the same way as the gossamer layers of fabric.

She smiled at their arrival. "You all look wonderful, I am glad you all have garments for a grand feast."

Mordecai was wearing the seasonal-themed raiment that Kazue had designed for him at the same time that Moriko had created his modified gi design. Moriko and Kazue were both wearing one of the dresses they had received from Kuiccihan's royal family; there were many advantages to having magic storage spaces.

"Now," Perenne said, "I find myself at a bit of an impasse, so I must ask for your advice. Though they are subtle, I did pick up hints of a more complicated social dynamic than I was expecting, and find myself uncertain how best to seat you all. I will be at the head of the table, of course, and others will be at the feast, but I wish to seat you all at my table."

Hmm. Mordecai turned to Kazue and Moriko and said, "While we all tend to be very informal, she is technically correct. Perhaps we could use this as a sort of training too. What do you think of having Fuyuko sit at Lady Perenne's left hand? We can then organize everyone near her age on that side after that."

There was a little bit of discussion to finalize the order, some of it kept private by passing messages through the earrings to the cores. On Perenne's left side would be, in order, Fuyuko, Shizoku, Ranulf, Yugo, Taeko, Amrydor, Rika, Derek, and Allania.

Fuyuko was thus going to need to act the role of a princess, though she would get some support and guidance from Shizoku, who had plenty of training as Aia's heir apparent. As Ranulf was also the heir apparent of his clan, he came next. 'Yugo' was the highest ranked of the supposedly not nobles, though if he was there as Prince Gou, he would certainly have outranked Shizoku, and possibly Fuyuko, but he was seated according to his identity.

The only other questionable placement was Derek. If he was officially Shizoku's betrothed, he would be at her side. As their relationship was unofficial, that position was not automatic, despite Shizoku's dramatic declaration last year in front of Queen Sylphine. The decision was made to place him between Rika and Allania partly because all three were from Riverbridge, and partly because putting him between two girls would stir an emotional reaction in Shizoku.

The possessive kitsune witch was going to have to control her emotions sharply in this scenario. It was good training for her.

On the adults' side, the order was Kazue, Mordecai, Moriko, Orchid, Paltira, Takehiko, Kansif, Bellona, and Ruby. The Azeria clan's hierarchy only relied on bloodlines for purposes of whom the Matriarch could select as her heir, and Orchid was higher in the clan's rank than Takehiko. Like with her brother, her other identity as Princess Orchid was not going to be factored into her seating arrangement.

Kansif and Bellona were both knights, with Kansif the more senior of the two, and the identity of Ruby was that of a commoner, so she was seated accordingly. Of course, the red-and-green flames flowing over her hair and the phoenix-dragon on her shoulders made her stand out in what was otherwise the lowest position.

As soon as the order was agreed upon, Perenne passed it along to another dryad, who would ensure that everyone was seated accordingly.

Meanwhile, the four of them made small talk for a little while so that they could arrive last. The topic was easy enough, as there were stories to tell about Kazue's and Moriko's dresses and Mordecai's outfit.

The main feast table was U-shaped , with the guests seated around the outer edge. This allowed those serving food to do so from the inside of the U-shape. Lady Perenne would be seated at the bend of the U, as that was always considered the head for a table of this configuration.

When the four of them arrived, they found that everyone else had changed into their best clothing as well. However, there were some minor issues with what people had available as their 'best'. Amrydor and Taeko at least had their dress uniforms, and Allania had her formal priestess robes. But neither Derek nor Rika had anything particularly formal. They were wearing clean, neat clothing, but nothing about the cut, material, or design stood out in quality or appearance.

That was an oversight, and it was clear he wasn't the only one who realized this. While Shizoku might fool most people right now, from Mordecai's perspective, it was clear that she was slightly overacting for her current role to cover how upset she really was. He was certain that she felt responsible for not ensuring that her intended had something formal to wear.

Putting them at the far end of the table might have mitigated their plainer looks, if Derek and Rika weren't seated almost directly across from Ruby. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done about it now. Even if they were loaned something, they would have to leave to change, which would only draw attention to the situation, and leaving immediately after everyone was seated could also be considered rude.

As they sat down, Kazue murmured, "Carnelian and I will take care of this." First impressions can not be undone, but they could be mitigated. The felinesque dragon familiar made her way under the table and down to the end where Derek and Rika sat, doing her best to avoid notice. She settled quietly between their chairs, and Kazue started working on a minor glamour. Having Carnelian next to Derek and Rika made it much easier to channel her spells onto them.

The spells were laid down in subtle layers over the course of the initial portion of the feast; first a slight upgrade to the apparent quality of the fabric, then an improvement in the quality of the stitching, a few basic touches of embroidery, a thin edge of gilt along the trim, and so on.

This slow pace, combined with an aura with a soft suggestion of 'I fit in', made the changes nearly unnoticeable. Even if someone happened to notice, Mordecai doubted that any fey would be bothered. Glamour was a way of life for them.

He enjoyed seeing her growing skill with her magic. Of course, this was her specialty, and it had been further enhanced by becoming a Faerie Queen. In comparison, her basic elemental magic was not particularly powerful. Those spells weren't weak, but they certainly didn't have the power and finesse that her dream-related spells did.

When there was a lull in conversation around the feasting table, Mordecai rose to make a brief announcement. "As we have a safe location where we can rest, this seems to be a good time to take an extra day to fully recover. We've all been pushing ourselves, but proper growth also requires recovery time, and we do not know when our next safe place to rest will be. Unless there are any objections?"

There were none, and everyone seemed grateful for the chance to eat their fill and then sleep in. Though he did note a few wry glances at the goblets of rose-scented wine. It was hard to hydrate when everything tasted like perfume, even if it was ‘rose as the dew drops lay upon it’ as their host had described. Mordecai wasn't certain that the additional day was necessary, but rushing would not help them at all. The extra time to rest would also allow him to indulge himself later tonight.

It was hard not to feel guilty over spending time enjoying himself, given the situation with Deidre's core, but her situation was also stable and her avatar was safe. They needed to carefully optimize the balance between growth and the time it took to grow; his preferential treatment and training for the Trionean soldiers had effectively been a bribe, but the situation was tying up a fair number of soldiers and several mages. That payment would only buy him so much time before someone of higher rank decided to take care of the problem 'efficiently'.

Mordecai was distracted from his musings when Lady Perenne rose from her chair to gather everyone's attention.

"I am glad you have enjoyed yourselves, but I have something more for my guests. You have all earned yourselves prizes for overcoming the difficulties in reaching this realm. I now have the honor of distributing them."

A small procession of fey creatures came forth to present the gifts, most of which were then taken away to be placed in the recipient’s lodgings. These gifts mostly filled the middle ground of gear that Mordecai and Kazue had not focused on as prizes for their delvers, and he had only asked Ricardo to fill out the necessities for their group, such as a seemingly absurd quantity of arrows. Even with Mordecai creating his own, the party had consumed a notable portion of their starting supply.

Speaking of which, arrows that were either made of special materials or held minor enchantments were given to the archers in large quantities, which was very helpful given the number of arrows they'd already gone through.

The other items were a variety of useful but not critical items, such amulets enchanted to help ward off specific creatures or types of magic, rings that provided resistance against various elements, single use items that could instantly create a campsite or transform into useful but bulky tools, a bag that would produce enough boring but nutritious rations to keep a person fed each day, healing potions and curatives, eyewear to see invisible creatures or to see in the dark, etc.

Hmm.

Mordecai whispered a message to his core to remember to add some of these into the available rewards. The food producing bag could be enhanced nicely, though increasing either the quantity or quality of the produced rations rapidly increased the price of creating that sort of bag.

Once the prizes were handed out, the feast continued in a more casual form. Food and drink were still provided, of course, but now dancing and mingling were encouraged, and more of the fey folk came forward who were eager to talk with their new visitors.

"Well, loves," Mordecai said to Kazue and Moriko, "I think it's about time we get an answer to what mystery our host holds." He was fairly certain he already knew the secret, but it would be best to get an answer before saying anything.

There was one thing that distracted him on their way to Lady Perenne, and that was the underlying scent from Fuyuko's mug. He hadn't noticed before amidst everything else, but with people being spread out more, it was easier to pick out individual sources of the same scent.

"Excuse me," he said as he interrupted the conversation Fuyuko was having with a couple of pixies and a young satyr, "I need to check something." He plucked the mug from Fuyuko's hand and sniffed it, then sighed and handed it to Moriko, who frowned after she picked up the scent as well. "Alright, new rule." Mordecai pushed just a touch of will and power into his voice to ensure it carried to everyone. "Small ales only for the rest of the night, for those who had been sitting on Fuyuko's side of the table."

A protest swiftly came from the three young champions in training, and Mordecai inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Except for those two," he said as he pointed at Yugo and Taeko, who were both seventeen. "They are old enough to deal with the consequences. No, Amrydor, you're the same age as Fuyuko, so you're getting the same rules."

He took a moment more to examine Fuyuko, who was shifting from surprised to mildly embarrassed. Her eyes were clear enough; that metabolism of hers must be helping here. "You didn't even notice, did you?" Mordecai grinned at her and then ruffled her hair. "It's fine, just pay more attention when we're traveling, alright?"

"We'll be back shortly," Moriko said as she handed back Fuyuko's mug, which had been safely emptied into Moriko's stomach. "Have fun." She and Kazue drew Fuyuko down to kiss her on each cheek before they and Mordecai turned back to their original goal.

Perenne was waiting for them, and she looked both amused and resigned. "How might I help you?" She asked.

"I think we should talk about it over by your tree. Or rather, what your tree hides," Mordecai said, gesturing to the tall oak, covered in climbing roses of deep red, dusty purple and glowing yellow, in the center of the glade.

Moriko and Kazue both glanced at the tree in question, but the answer was not immediately obvious. When they got closer, Kazue was the first to feel it, and her eyes opened wide. A few steps later, Moriko could make it out as well.

"We don't get a lot of visitors this deep," Perenne said, "but still, you are the first to notice. Then again, I've not hosted another avatar before. At least, not since I gave my fealty to Dersuta."

"Ah," Mordecai said, "I was wondering if you had started independently. I've not met many subsidiary cores, but that seemed to be the only answer to a few bits of strangeness we noticed."

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