June 20th - Pharon takes Lord Alecai to see Mr. Goldleaf

Pharon stared at the door to Mr. Goldleaf's house, uncomfortable. He was acutely aware of Lord Alecai waiting beside him.

As soon as Pharon had gotten out of the Infirmary, Lord Alec had demanded that Pharon take him to see Mr. Goldleaf.

For once, Lord Alecai seemed to be in a good mood, although by now, Pharon had realized that his moods were as tempestuous as the weather in the mountains. They were treacherous and changed violently. Lord Alecai may be smiling now, but he might kill Mr. Goldleaf should these talks go poorly.

The door opened revealing Mr. Goldleaf, Mrs. Goldleaf, and Miss Goldleaf waiting patiently at the end of the hall. Their entire household lined the walls of the entryway.

Pharon watched as the entire group bowed to him.

"Your Highness," Mr. Goldleaf began smoothly , "to what do we have pleasure?"

"Mr. Goldleaf, we are here on business." Pharon said stiffly.

Mr. Goldleaf's smile turned brittle and his eyes flicked between the Lord Alecai and Pharon with uncertainty, "Of course," he said.

Mr. Goldleaf gestured for Pharon and Lord Alecai to follow him to his office. Pharon glanced around the stuffy room. It was rather larger than he'd expect of even a merchant's rental home. Once seated, Pharon made the introductions.

When Mr. Goldleaf heard that Lord Alecai was a cousin of Pharon's, he began to visibly sweat.

"Mr. Goldleaf, I must say your niece has completely captivated me." Lord Alecai began.

Mr. Goldleaf got up and began to fix himself a drink at the sideboard as Lord Alec continued.

"I would like to make it so that she can continue to captivate me forever more." Lord Alex said with a happy smile. "In short, I'd like to accept your offer for her."

Mr. Goldleaf downed his now mixed drink with a shaking hand, then turned back around to face Pharon and Lord Alec.

"I would like to assist you, my Lord, but what you are asking has been out of my power for some time now." Mr. Goldleaf said.

Pharon watched as Lord Alecai blinked in surprise. Then Lord Alecai's face descended into cold fury.

"Why can you not facilitate this?" Lord Alec demanded coldly.

Mr. Goldleaf swallowed hard, "I have already signed her mating agreement to someone else."

"Who?" Pharon asked desperately. He recognized the smile Lord Alecai was wearing. It was the congenial, forgiving smile that Lord Alecai had given him just yesterday before sending him to the infirmary. Pharon was a prince, but Mr. Goldleaf was just a merchant. Pharon knew Mr. Goldleaf was on shaky ground. "Who did you sign her mating agreement to?" Pharon pressed Mr. Goldleaf.

Mr. Goldleaf began wringing his hands, "I cannot say, your Highness. I promised secrecy. I would help you if I could, but I cannot."

Pharon started sweating as Lord Alecai's smile deepened.

"So," Lord Alecai said, "you won't tell us?" To Pharon it seemed as if this was a very loaded question.

"I can't tell you, my Lord. I promised." Mr. Goldleaf replied with a heavy sigh. "I can promise to let you know if he changes his mind?"

Lord Alecai spread his hands, "There's no need, Mr. Goldleaf."

***

An agonizing ten minutes later, Pharon stumbled out of the manor house behind Lord Alecai. He staggered and fell on to the cobblestones of the street. His lunch erupted from his stomach in great heaves as the image of Mr. Goldleaf's body filled his mind.

As his vomiting subsided, Pharon heard a chuckle from above and to his left. He looked up to see Lord Alecai's smiling at him in amusement. Pharon's eyes fell on the blood splattered across Lord Alecai's face and began heaving once more.

"I'll be going back first then." Lord Alecai said, his voice full of mocking laughter. Pharon nodded as much as he could.

Lord Alecai mounted his waiting horse and rode off. Pharon watched him go with a feeling of dread in his stomach. Lord Alecai was a monster. His mother had been wrong to ask him to come here.

Pharon knew he had to warn them. Mr. Goldleaf had told them that he'd signed the agreement with Kane Essenvir, eventually, before- Pharon promptly got sick again.

He had to find them. They'd gone out on a quest. They couldn't have gone far; they needed to be back by Monday. Pharon had to find them before Lord Alecai did.

Pushing himself to his feet, Pharon staggered to his horse. Somehow, he mounted up and then set off for the Adventurer's Guildhall.