Chương 149: Chapter 225: The Wedding

"Change of plans." Will said as he arrived in the meeting room where his 'friends' were discussing escape routes once the fireworks kicked off. Will had been listening. They'd made contact with Fabron Faefire last night through sheer luck, and riled him up enough that Will was genuinely worried Kyle, Roger, Amy and Bess snapped their mouths shut as Will arrived, placing a map down in front of them that showed the wedding venue.

"I have it on good authority that one of the other Lords is going to make an attempt on my life during this event." Will said.

"Now I can't reveal who it might be but I can tell you his name rhymes with Babron Bae-Flier." His 'friends' stiffened up at the news that Will already knew who was primed to pick a fight with him. He could see the thoughts flickering behind their eyes. How much did he know? Did he know Kyle's group was involved?

"Since you four are my most trusted friends, I must turn to you to protect me." Will said, muscling back a malicious grin.

"So instead of putting you on security on the outer edge, you'll be my direct bodyguards inside the wedding itself." Will shifted his finger from the outer courty to the seats directly in front of the stage where the wedding was happening.

"And don't worry for my safety. I've arranged for any damage that is done to me to be split amongst the four you." Will said.

"Mark Wyrd was willing to lend a hand, and he is excellent at damage redirection. Will scanned the pale faces and hopeless expressions, just barely forcing back a gale of evil laughter. What could be funnier than making them into meat-shields and throwing them in front of their own 'clever' schemes? I think I'll spare Kyle and the priestess. Kyle needs to feel the weight of his plans crumbling around him inadvertently killing his own men.

And I can't wait to watch the priestess of Granesh blame herself after half-reviving a charred corpse. And of course for the class-burning flames to render the other two invalids. … Am I taking this revenge thing too far? Let's check.

"A bit off-topic, but…If I killed you four right now, how many more kids would it stop you from killing in order to rob?" Will asked.

"That's a stupid question." Kyle responded.

"Stupid because the answer is 'a lot'?" Will asked.

"Stupid because the premise is flawed. You were the only kid carrying a national treasure around completely undefended I've ever seen in my life. It's not like we kill children for peanuts, and it's not like rich families who pass on priceless heirlooms leave them completely undefended. You were a unique situation." Will snapped his fingers and pointed at Kyle.

"Fair point. So, hypothetically, if you found something that valuable in the hands of a defenseless orphan, you'd do it again?" Kyle narrowed his eyes, seemingly trying to decipher what answer Will wanted.

"…Probably." He thinks he can get on my good side by being honest. I'll keep this revenge thing going a little longer. At least through the end of the stay here. Will waved off the conversation.

"Anyway, I'll be sitting here," Will said, motioning to the seating.

"And Fabron Faefire will be sitting there. You fine folks will be sitting…." Will motioned to the four seats between them.

"Directly in between."

"Your job will be to try and talk him down, since you did such a good job of talking him up last night." Kyle inhaled sharply.

"Anyway, that's all I have to tell you guys. Take whatever last-minute preparations you need. I'll see you out there in a few minutes." Will took his leave and went to go find his seat with Brianna. In the tent, the conversation continued on for just a moment.

"Did he-" Amy began"Before you say anything." Kyle interrupted.

"It would be fair to assume that he's listening to us somehow." It's too bad Phantom eye only works a few minutes at a time, or I'd be watching too. Will thought, arriving beside Brianna. A few minutes later, the four Climbers arrived, stiffly taking their seats directly between Will and their cat's paw.

"You seem like you're having a good time." Brianna said, nudging his side.

"I'm tormenting some people who deserve it."

"…Who?" Brianna asked.

"These guys." Will motioned to his left, where the four Climbers were sitting.

"Hi," Brianna whispered, waving across Will. Amy gave a nervous wave back, while the others fixed their eyes straight ahead.

"What did they do?" Brianna whispered.

"Tried to kill me." Will replied." Lots of people have tried to kill you." she said.

"It was before I had a Class." Will clarified.

"Oh? Oh…" She peered past Will.

"… all of them?"

"The priestess of Granesh wasn't directly involved but she's a priestess of Granesh, and the entire religion tried to kill me, so…" Will shrugged.

"I guess that's fair." Brianna nodded. She leaned past Will and raised her whisper just enough to carry to the other four.

"Sorry about him." She whispered apologetically. Kyle glanced over at Brianna for a moment, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face, but otherwise not acknowledging her statement. A moment later, Brianna pinched Will's arm and pointed to the right. Fabron Faefire was talking with Mark Wyrd, his wife and entourage, seemingly at ease. He looked… Better. He still looked dog-tired, but… satisfied, in a way. On the mend. Huh. Is this the last hurrah of a dying man or is he actually getting better?

Fabron broke off from the Wyrds and walked past Will to reach his seat, causing Will's 'Bodyguards' to tense up. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon."' sup kid?" Fabron said, nodding towards Will as he scooted past. He didn't look like someone planning on making a scene. Shame. Fabron took his seat just as Baron Akul greeted his niece. Half-sister?

Their father had been nigh immortal and had sired them two generations apart, so while half-sister was accurate...

"Uncle!" Amanda said, giving the jowly old man a hug. Uncle is even more accurate. Will thought as he saw a rare smile bloom on the Baron's face.

"How's the Seventh Floor? Not too muggy is it? How's the company? You know you don't have to stay with him if you don't want to."

"…Thanks." Mark Wyrd said, scowling." it's not bad once you get used to it, and the company is fine. Mark basically waits on me hand and foot since-" Amanda Wyrd winced as she stubbed her mental toe on a nasty memory. That would probably make a good piece for a Memory Key, Will thought idly. His own had gotten longer and more refined over the last few years. Amanda's gaze flickered towards Will before dragging back to the face of her uncle.

"I'm doing well. Mark and I are wonderful."

"Hmm…well, you're always welcome in Akul." Luis Akul said, "Catch up with me more after this?"

"Oh course, uncle." Luis patted his niece on the arm and the two of them broke apart, heading for their seats. Only a few minutes later Reggie took the stage in fancy kit, music swelled, and Zodiac walked his daughter down the aisle, retreating to his seat once she had joined Reggie onstage. The priest of Anaisa conducted the ceremony in a far drier manner than Will would've expected from the goddess of love.

The ceremony and vows were dry enough to make Will wither in his seat, and his only form of entertainment was listening to the hushed whispers of Kyle Fontaine desperately trying to convince Fabron not to attack William Oh. Their conversation took a circular back-and-forth where Kyle would request that Fabron call it off, and Fabron would say he never had any intention of attacking Will. Then he would wink, which would prompt Kyle to say 'no, seriously.' And restart the conversation over again.

It was freakin' hilarious, and a great distraction from the bore-torture that was the wedding ceremony. It must've happened… four times before Kyle realized Fabron was messing with him. He was either going to attack or not, and nothing Kyle said to him was going to make any sort of difference, which left the four of them nothing to do but sit there and sweat, wondering when they would spontaneously combust. When the time came for the newlywed couple to address the crowd, Will turned his attention back to the stage.

"I'd like to thank my parents, the Lanover family, who have grown beyond mere employers to become my best friends." Reggie said, his eyes shimmering with manly pride as he nodded to Mason in the back row.

"More than anything else, We'd both like to thank our Party, the ones that supported us and got us to the Tenth Floor. You know who you are. If it hadn't been for you, we'd never have met, and most likely be dead." True, Will thought, nodding to himself.

"On the back of these thanks, We'd also like to make an announcement:" Reggie said, pausing for a moment to glance at Alicia.

"…We're pregnant!"

"BAHAHAHAHAH!" Will couldn't hold it in, his cackling cutting through the silence, heels kicking against the crystal cobblestone of the outdoor reception hall. A moment later Will's laughter was washed out by whistles, catcalls and congratulations from the entire crowd of rough-and-tumble Climbers. Everyone save Zodiac's section. The old lord looked like he'd sucked on a particularly sour lemon and was affronted at the experience, and his minions didn't dare express any happiness.

Will didn't know how much of that was acting, and how much this news actually pissed Lord Zodiac off. Funny either way.

"So…we got to talking, got curious and got her checked by a priest. We caught it early, and in order to keep her and the baby safe, I'll be going back down The Tower with them as their personal Tank." Reggie said, barely audible over the shouting. Brianna put her thumb and forefinger in her mouth and blasted out a whistle that nearly destroyed Will's eardrums as Reggie shuffled off stage, his face as red as a tomato.

"Maybe I should get checked out too?" Amanda Wyrd whispered to her husband a couple rows back.

"Couldn't hurt," Mark whispered back. When the ceremony was over, the audience got up and stretched their legs. The looky-loo's camped around the edge of the area packed up their stuff and went back to their day jobs, while the invited guests hung around for some time in a more intimate environment than the meet-and-greet the day before.

Just invited guests: Lords and the people they'd directly invited to the event Which made Kyle Fontaine and his Party stand out even more, sweating bullets while they stood beside Will, diligently standing between him and Fabron Faefire. The man in question flickered past their defense and arrived in front of Will, offering his hand. Will took it.

"I wasn't in the right mind last night, and I wanted to thank you personally, William Oh," He said, shaking Will's hand.

"I wouldn't be here without you, and I can't properly emphasize how grateful I am for that."

"I heard you broke out of Bakton Keep while under Debt. Not sure what I had to do with that." Will said.

"You stir things up." Fabron said with a grin.

"And a little guy like me can rise pretty high if he's quick on his feet and ready to seize opportunities."

"An opportunist, huh?" Will said.

"Essentially." Fabron said, his gaze flickering beyond Will for a moment, landing on Luis Akul talking to his niece and nephew-in-law.

"That being said, I smell an opportunity. I can't leave everything to the butler, after all. Nice to meet you." He patted Will on the arm and made a bee-line to the knot where the Akul and Wyrd families were mingling. I suppose that might be an opportunity. Will thought, watching Fabron suggest meeting up later, only to get shot down because the baron and his niece were going to be catching up as a family out that evening.

Lord Faefire persisted, and they made a grudging reservation to meet Fabron later in the nine-day follow-up party. All the while Void stood nearby, arms crossed. Will couldn't tell where the necromancer's eyes were directed under that mask, but something told Will he was watching Fabron. How is he supposed to be a bodyguard as a necromancer, anyway? He doesn't have any undead with him, Will wondered. Plus that massive scythe had to kill someone first before it could raise them. Not great for fending off attacks.

Given that Mark Wyrd was a tank archetype, did they bring the necromancer simply for intimidation? Will saw Fabron walk away, groaning about needing to get some sleep, his shoulders slightly hunched after getting shot down by the two families. Well, it was pretty rude to interrupt them while they're catching up.

"Huh, guess he was lying." Kyle muttered as Fabron left. Yeah, I guess he was just telling them he'd 'make me pay' to get them to leave him alone. Of course, Will could never fully trust that assumption, but that's what it looked like.

"Looks like you live another day," Will mused. Kyle Fontaine grunted, his expression clouded as he watched Fabron disappear amongst the crowd.

"I thought you were a veteran? How do people keep tricking you?" Will asked.

"Fuck you."

"You're on cleanup detail." Will said, leaving the four of them standing there. Kyle grabbed a chair and began carrying it to the supply trailer outside the square.

"Hold on. Some people decided to take shits in the alleyways outside the square, so guess where you've been assigned? There's shovels and mops in the trailer!" Will called over his shoulder as he left.

"Sorry about him!" Brianna called to them as she joined Will. Will escorted his Brianna back to their room and the two relaxed for the evening, eager to stay inside and lay in bed for the rest of the night, taking a much-needed break from the press of the crowd. Well, Will needed the break. Brianna was giddy, rolling around on the oversized down bed, seemingly a lingering aftereffect of attending a wedding. Will was relaxing in the bath when a thought occurred to him. Fabron… wasn't scared of anything.

HE WASN'T SCARED! Everyone had some fears. Brianna had been afraid someone would recognize her as a Tangled, or that her dress might malfunction. Amanda had been afraid her uncle would be disappointed in her, and afraid Will would kill someone she loved again. Reggie had been afraid of public speaking. Abyss, even the priest who gave the dry presentation had been mildly afraid his laundry might be moldy and that people might smell it.

Before today, Fabron had been a roiling mass of minor fears that seemed to combine into something greater than the sum of its parts. Today, he'd been entirely without fear. That was unnatural. Like a certain golemancer that had wound up dead in an alleyway… Why was Fabron so interested in the Wyrds? Will recalled what baron Akul had said. He'd be interested to see the interaction between their build and the Set. Willing to kill Fabron to do it, too. Fabron isn't gonna sell it to the Akul family, is he? No…

Will lunged out of the bath and sprinted to his kit, tugging it on as quickly as he could. Look at it from the opposite direction. If you already had the set, but couldn't use it well… you'd be interested in acquiring a Fire Build to go with it, instead of the other way 'round. What a ridiculous thought, you can't just acquire a different Build… but you can control someone who has one. Amanda Wyrd was an excellent target for an unscrupulous Charm user.

Huge parts of her mind had already been systematically weakened. And if she had the typical Akul Nuker build… Thigs we know: Fabron had no fear. Unless he somehow achieved enlightenment, he must've been controlled somehow. He spent every free moment during the wedding expressing interest in Amanda Wyrd. Ergo, whoever is controlling him is expressing interest in her. Her build fits a flame set better. And Luis's might fit even better. And they're both going to be in the same place at the same time.

Perhaps that means they'd be too difficult to pin down, and he'll wait… or perhaps it just means a buffet of targets. I have no idea how this guy is thinking. If I'm even right. Gods, this is flimsy. But Will followed his gut, rushing for the door.

"Will, where are you goi-" Will opened the door and nearly caught an explosion to the face as a wall of miasma-burning flame tried to force its way in. He slammed the door closed, the jet of flame only singing the barest edge of his hair.

"Get your real body safe." Will said, glancing at Brianna as the door heated up under his touch.

"It's happening."