CH5 Bargains and babies

9th day of the 2nd moon, 234 AC. Dol Guldur.

Harry gave a distracted nod of greeting to a passing servant that was carrying a small pile of laundry, too focused on his notes to really register anything about her other than the fact that she was young and a little frightened looking.

Two staircases and one corner later his steps slowed until he came to a halt, frowning in mild confusion.

Since when did Dol Guldur have servants?

And he recognized the girl too. They'd had guests over recently, a larger group than normal. What was left of a whole clan in fact. A large proportion of their young men had died in one way or another and roaming bands of raiders had left them with little choice but to move. Luna had invited them in when they passed near the tower.

Harry had assumed they would stay for a few days at most, just long enough to get what injuries they had healed and their strength back, before moving on. He'd already prepared a large batch of nutrient dust as a gift for their journey.

Apparently they had decided to stay.

Or more likely, been convinced to stay. This had Adrastia's fingerprints all over it.

Harry altered his destination, now heading towards his pet serial killer.

"Harry darling, how wonderful to have you visit me so early in the day." She greeted gregariously, kissing his cheeks and generally being insufferably sociable.

"Adrastia." He said evenly. "About all these people suddenly living in my tower..."

"Oh, don't mind them." She said dismissively. "I'll train them up to cook, clean, harvest the greenhouses and other such menial tasks in exchange for shelter and protection. You'll barely even notice they're here."

"Hmm." Harry hummed. Truth be told, he really didn't care as long as they didn't get in his way. The drain on resources would be negligible and it wasn't likely that he'd ever need to do any protecting outside of letting them live in the tower. "Fine, but I expect you to also give them a basic education."

"I thought you would insist on that." Adrastia smiled lazily. "I will see it done."

"Good." He nodded firmly. You could never tell where genius – or at least potential – was hiding and the best way of bringing it out was by providing opportunities. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go prepare for my trip to Braavos."

"I didn't know you were going to Braavos."

"I wasn't planning to go this early, but then I found myself in sudden need of a large amount of books to act as bait for any potentially curious houseguests."

XXXXX

10th day of the 2nd moon, 234AC. Braavos.

Galo was used to seeing all sorts of people coming into his bookstore; nobles, merchants, sailors, courtesans, even a few that he suspected were Faceless Men. None of them scared him. Who harms a trader of books?

This one though...this one made him uneasy, because he didn't make sense. His scarred face and hard, incredibly green eyes would have marked him as a sellsword, but he was dressed too finely and carried no weapon. He could have been a noble, but he had no guards with him and his manner of dress was too simple and too unusual for it.

And there was just something oppressive about his presence.

The stranger merely grunted in acknowledgement of his greeting before looking assessingly at all the books in the store.

Finally, he nodded to himself and turned to stare Galo in the eyes with that unnerving gaze of his. "Your books, I'll take them."

"Which ones?" Galo asked cautiously.

"All of them."

Galo's jaw dropped slightly in surprise. "All of them?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?" The stranger asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Well...no, as long as you can pay." Galo said slowly. Books were expensive and he had actually never bothered to count their total cost, but it had to be immense. Far more than even most nobles would be willing to pay all at once.

The stranger merely nodded and removed what looked like a miniature chest from his clothes.

Then, before Galo's shocked eyes, the chest increased in size until it was large enough for a man to comfortably fit inside and placed on the ground with a thump. The lid opened to reveal rows upon rows of gold ingots stacked neatly atop each other.

"Will that be enough?" The stranger asked.

"W-what?" Galo stammered, staring fearfully at the sorcerer that used magic so brazenly.

"Will that be enough to pay for your entire stock of books?" The sorcerer asked with a mocking smirk on his lips. "Or do you need more?" He pulled out another miniature chest from his clothes.

Galo suddenly felt greed grasp at his heart as he stared between the opened chest full of gleaming gold and the one that promised even more, but he hastily strangled the impulse to say that it wasn't enough. It most definitely was enough and only a fool would try to cheat a sorcerer.

"Y-yes, it is enough." He nodded vigorously.

"Excellent." The sorcerer stated and waved his hand. Books started flying off the shelves and disappearing gods only knew where. Within minutes, the store was stripped bare.

"I'll be back when, and if, you replenish your stock." He said and left without waiting for a response.

Galo collapsed into a chair and placed a hand over his pounding heart. Had he just made a magical patron?

His eyes slid over to the chest full of gold, which probably contained substantially more wealth than all his books had been worth, and decided that there were worse fates in this world.

XXXXX

It didn't take Harry long to clean out every bookstore in Braavos. This being a medieval world, there weren't all that many of them, although still far more than in Westeros where that number was basically zero. The Free Cities were more advanced both technologically and culturally, aside from that nasty practice of slavery that all of them except Braavos engaged in.

He could have just stolen the books of course, but he wanted rumors to spread that there was a wizard buying books in bulk in Braavos. You never know what that might draw in. He'd save the stealing for private libraries. Actually, he should probably use duplication charms rather than outright theft, since theft was a strategy with diminishing returns, but damn would it be tedious to cast a duplication charm for every fucking book.

Now he was staring contemplatively up the steps of a rocky knoll, upon which sat a stone building with large double doors carved of weirwood and ebony. The infamous House of Black and White, the headquarters of the Faceless Men, this world's most feared guild of assassins.

Harry shrugged to himself and sauntered inside. These guys supposedly used some magic and he wanted to take a look.

He passed through a small antechamber and into a much larger room that was dominated by a black pool in the center, with a stone cup waiting on a stone platform in front of it. Statues of various gods and their altars dotted the walls. In between the statues, alcoves containing stone beds were carved into the walls.

The pool had a voice that spoke of poison, as if that wasn't obvious enough from context, but it was the statues that interested him more than anything. He didn't recognize all of them, but those he did were all representations of death, which sounded about right for a religious order of assassins. It was very Dark Brotherhood of them.

Harry made a slow circle around the room, stopping briefly by each statue to listen for any whispers of the otherworldly. There was something there, but it was quiet, patient...familiar. Dark was present here.

"May I help you?"

Harry did not jump or startle at the voice. He had sensed the man watching him.

"I was just listening to this god of yours." He said with an amused smile. "Many-faced you call him. An interesting take on death."

"All men must die." The unremarkable-looking man with the dual-toned cowl of black and white said solemnly. "Thus, all deaths gods are but facets of one and the same."

"It would get awfully confusing if there was a separate death god for every religion." Harry agreed. "Indeed, it would further explain why the voices of each individual death god are so weak."

"You can hear the voices of the gods?" The Faceless Man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wouldn't be much of a wizard if I couldn't." He grinned, knowing perfectly well that the vast majority of magic users weren't even half as aware.

"A wizard you say." The Faceless Man hummed. "I have heard rumors about a sorcerer buying books all around the city."

"Rumors already?" Harry grinned. "That was quick. You wouldn't happen to have any books you'd be willing to part with, would you?"

The other man smiled in amusement. "I'm afraid not, what texts we have are for Faceless Men only."

"How about letting me copy them?"

"Once again, I must decline." The Faceless Man sounded genuinely apologetic. So polite!

"Alright then." Harry shrugged and skimmed the Faceless Man's surface thoughts, just in time to catch that those books were nothing more than ledgers and historical accounts. Interesting, but not that interesting.

Unable to help his curiosity, he pushed the mental probe deeper and was taken aback by what he saw. He had no ego, no self-identity at all! The face he was currently wearing had a lingering identity attached to it that was layered over the memories of the man that the Faceless used to be.

"Please stay out of my mind." The Faceless Man requested politely, although there was a note of warning in his tone.

"Sorry about that, I've never been able to help myself from poking around whenever I see something interesting." Harry apologized, actually quite impressed that he had been detected and paradoxically respectful of the assassin's mental privacy because of it. "This skill of yours shares many similarities with one of mine."

"You can change faces as well?" The assassin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not like you do. My ability is called Skinwalking, and it allows me to assume the form of any non-magical creature of size similar to my own. The difference is that you seem to erase your own identity to make it possible to assume others, whereas I have to subjugate the identity of those whose skins I take or else they bleed over into mine. Our skills are similar, but approached from different directions."

What he didn't mention was that this Faceless Man had no magic of his own, which brought up the question of how he was able to perform a clearly magical procedure.

Harry immediately suspected divine intervention, as it were. Whatever extra-planar creature was associated with death in this world could very well be facilitating the assassin guild's trade and their style of worship did lend itself to the particular skill of changing faces.

But what came first, the chicken or the egg?

"How interesting, I hadn't thought that such things were known anywhere else." The Faceless Man said. "Where did you learn this?"

"Oh, it was a long time ago, in a world far, far away." Harry smirked in amusement.

The assassin hummed noncommittally and changed the subject. "Aside from knowledge, have you perchance also come here seeking the gift?"

"Nah." Harry waved off dismissively. "I'm not ready to die yet and I can do my own killing."

"As you wish." The Faceless Man nodded affably.

Harry was about to leave when a thought occurred to him. "Before I go, I should probably mention that people are bound to approach you sooner or later with requests that you administer the gift to me and mine. I actually like you, so please don't try it. It would end very badly for you if you did."

"We will keep it in mind." The Faceless Man said neutrally, further impressing Harry by recognizing that it wasn't a threat.

It probably said something about him that an order of assassins managed to get his respect so quickly.

XXXXX

12th day of the 2nd moon, 234 AC. Dol Guldur, Main Library.

"The Cen-tu-ry of Blood." Ava sounded out slowly, reading the title of the book she was holding.

Learning how to read had been difficult and often frustrating, but now that she knew how it was almost like magic. Just look at some squiggles drawn on parchment and gain knowledge. She still didn't understand some of the bigger words and her reading speed was still very slow compared to Harry or Luna, but it was like a whole new world had been opened up to her.

Ava knew that she should be helping to sort out all the books that Harry had brought from across the sea, but the title had caught her interest and soon she was just standing there in a secluded corner of the vast room that had Harry had filled with bookshelves, reading.

The book talked about the chaos and wars that had gone on after the fall of the Valyrian Freehold.

Ava remembered what Harry had told her about them. Sorcerers, slavers, godless monsters. They had been the ones to destroy Hardhome with their dragons according to him, having come to take slaves. There was a grim satisfaction in knowing that their tormented ghosts were now chained to the ruins of their evil civilization.

She had only made it a few pages in when arms suddenly snaked around her middle and pulled her against a familiar male chest. "Good book?"

"Harry." Ava breathed after calming down the the initial surprise. "I'm sorry, I was just-"

"Don't apologize for being curious." Harry interrupted in a low tone that sent pleasant shivers up her spine. "We're not in a hurry and I always liked a curious woman. So, is it a good book?"

Ava bit her lip when she felt his hand slide up her smooth leg and under her skirt.

Harry had done something to her that prevented the hair from growing back and she'd taken a liking to skirts ever since. They were just so breezy and comfortable, and the tower was always warm enough to keep her from being cold.

"Aye, it's a good book." She answered, looking around to make sure that nobody was watching them.

"Why don't you read it for me?" He suggested in a way that wasn't really a suggestion.

"Alright..." She assented, trying not to get too flustered by his roaming hands.

That effort failed as soon as those hands ghosted over her now hairless crotch and cupped her cunt.

"No panties again?" Harry murmured with a distinct tone of approval in his voice. "Naughty girl."

Ava would freely admit that she loved the feel of the silk smallclothes – or underwear as Harry, Luna and Adrastia called them – but she liked the feel of air blowing across her bare crotch even more.

It also let Harry slip a couple of fingers inside her with nothing to get in his way.

Ava bit her lip harder at the sensation and gripped the bookshelf for support as her legs threatened to buckle.

"The book, Ava." Harry reminded her. "Read the book for me."

Reading was the last thing on her mind right now, but she obeyed nonetheless.

"As Valyria's...first daughter, the Vo-lan-ten-es...regar-ded themselves as the rightful succes-ors of...the dragonlords." Ava read haltingly from the top of the page she was on, finding it much more difficult to do so with Harry stirring up her insides like that.

A gasp escaped her throat when one of his unoccupied fingers gently dragged across the little button of pleasure that Harry said was called the 'clitoris', which she'd always thought was a queer thing to call anything. Still, there was no denying that he knew what he was doing with it.

"Keep reading." He commanded as he fiddled with his trousers to bring his cock out.

Ava flushed with further arousal. Harry might be shorter than her, but it always felt like he loomed over her like a mountain. He was such a strong man. The gods had been good when they sent him to her.

So she obeyed and continued reading, but first she bent her knees just enough to give him better access while he flipped up her skirt.

A quiet little moan escaped her when she felt him sliding into her, and then a gasp as his fingers started playing with her clit as he slowly fucked her.

Ava tried to keep reading, but it soon became impossible to focus on the words, so she just clung to the bookshelf and enjoyed the feeling of being impaled over and over. Thankfully, he made no further demands that she read.

It wasn't long before she felt the familiar tension coiling in her gut. Her legs began to shake and she needed to brace more of her weight against the bookshelf. Then he roughly thrust into her with a grunt of satisfaction and spilled his hot seed into her, at the same time gently pincing the little pleasure button he'd been toying with the whole time, pushing her over the edge.

Ava kept her jaw clenched tightly to prevent her cries of pleasure from alerting all the other women working in the library to what they'd been doing. When it was over, she closed her eyes contently and just reveled in the feeling of bliss and the warmth pooling inside her cunt.

"Harry." She murmured lazily, feeling utterly relaxed.

"Yes?" He questioned, holding her by the hips and pressing his thumbs into her lower back in a way that felt very nice.

"I haven't bled in almost two moons."

"Well of course you haven't." He sounded amused. "You're carrying our son."

Her heart felt like it would burst with joy. She hadn't been sure, but if Harry said so...

"We're having a son?" She asked, spinning around and ignoring the wet 'shlick' sound as his cock slipped out of her.

"Yes, I can sense it." He confirmed, putting his cock away.

Ava couldn't help herself and leaned down to kiss him. The height difference made it a little awkward, but she didn't care. She was pregnant.

"How long have you known?" She asked eagerly after coming up for air.

"Not long." Harry said. "His soul is still forming at the moment, but it is distinct enough for me to be able to detect it and his gender."

Her face hurt from grinning so hard. A son, they were having a son. She was so happy that she really didn't know what to do with herself. The intensity of emotion she was feeling was much more than she was used to dealing with and it made her want to run out and shout the news to the others.

"You should go get cleaned up." Harry suggested, looking down at her legs with a little smirk. "You're dripping."

Ava looked down and instinctively clenched to prevent anymore of his seed from trickling out of her. There was already a pale trail winding itself down her left leg, but that just served as another reminder of the life that was growing inside her, which brought back the painfully wide grin.

"Aye, I'll go take a shower." She agreed while staring at him with half-lidded eyes, lust so recently quenched rising once again. "If you come with me."

"Well, if you insist."

They left that part of the library and entered the main area, which was filled with couches, tables and desks to make reading as comfortable as possible. Luna and Oak were currently sitting together on one of the couches and hunched over a book.

When the two short women looked up at them, they immediately burst into giggles.

Ava felt only mildly embarrassed at the thought that they knew what she and Harry had been doing, still too happy about having her pregnancy confirmed. The urge to share the good news was almost overwhelming, but a hand on her wirst stopped her.

"Don't tell them yet." Harry murmured. "All four of you are pregnant, but I'm still waiting for the others to mention it to me."

Ava felt a momentary flash of jealousy at the thought of Harry having children with other women, but it passed before she could even properly register it. The idea that her son would have siblings his own age was much more prevalent. She could already imagine it; her big, strong, black-haired and emerald-eyed boy playing with and protecting his smaller brothers and sisters.

She grabbed Harry's wrist and almost dragged him off. The thought had lit a fire in her loins and she wanted to fuck again right now.

Luna and Oak watched them escape and burst into another fit of giggles.

"Oi, what are you gigglin' about?" Sigrid peeked out of her own section and asked, her tattooed face twisted into a confused scowl.

That of course just made them giggle more.

"Ye probably don't wanna know." Hala hollered jokingly from her own part of the library, despite having no idea either.

Sprawled across one of the fuzzy carpets and taking up more space than a table, Ash cracked open her eyes and huffed disgustedly before going back to her nap. Humans were so loud.

XXXXX

18th day of the 2nd moon. 234 AC. Dol Guldur.

Harry cringed as the discordant tone of poorly struck metal grated across both his hearing and supernatural sense for metal. The downside of being so familiar with the soul of metal was that teaching little brats how to properly work it could be downright painful.

"Boy, what the fuck are you doing?" He snapped, startling Bragni out of whatever daydream he'd been having.

"Err..." The boy stammered, looking decidedly nervous.

"For fuck's sake, a girl opens up her legs for you and suddenly it's all you can think of." Harry grumbled.

"That's not-" Bragni tried to deny, but his wide eyes betrayed him.

"That's exactly what it is." Harry interrupted with a snort. As if the little horndog could hide anything from him in his own tower.

Not to mention that it was really quite inevitable. Several months of nutritious food and hard work had turned the skinny brat into a rather well built brat. Then Adrastia settles a clan of mostly women and children in Dol Guldur as servants. Of course one of the younger girls would see the unattached Bragni as a prime candidate for mating.

Now he had an apprentice that was too busy reminiscing about his first experience in getting his cock wet to pay attention to what he was doing.

"Sorry." Bragni said, clearly embarrassed. Not so much at having sex despite being barely fourteen, but at letting himself get distracted.

"Let me give you a bit of advice about women." Harry began with the sage tone of one imparting great wisdom upon the ignorant. "The less you allow yourself to be ruled by your cock, the more they'll want you. Women love men who are determined and passionate about something that isn't women. It makes them want to focus that drive and passion on themselves. So get your head screwed on straight and get back to hammering!"

"Aye!" Bragni cried enthusiastically and got back to work with renewed purpose.

Harry shook his head in amusement. The boy was clearly still thinking with his lower head, but at least he was being constructive about it.

It suddenly occurred to him that Bragni might get the girl pregnant and he wondered if he should remind him about the possibility. Then he shook his head again and decided not to bother. It wasn't his job to police the stupidity of others and it would be the brat's own fault if he became a father in his mid-teens.

XXXXX

23rd day of the 3rd moon, 234 AC. Dol Guldur.

"It's happening!" Luna exclaimed in whispered excitement.

After an unusually long gestation, Harry's giant crow was finally hatching. The length of time it took to hatch was entirely due to his tampering with the natural order. Most obvioulsy, the egg was now about the size of a grown man if he curled up into a ball, a substantial increase from the 'three times the size of an ostrich egg' it had been when Adrastia had first seen it. There were other, subtler changes done, but only time would tell if those had been as successful as the size increase.

Everyone had come to watch it happen. Harry because it was his project, Luna because she would never miss something like this, Adrastia out of mild interest, Bragni because he was a teenaged boy and Harry's four stolen women because magic was still largely new to them and they were curious.

With a series of cracks, the shell broke and the newly hatched crow eventually crawled out, already croaking needily.

"Ugly little thing." Ava noted with amusement, staring at the ungainly hatchling that was actually as big as a medium-sized dog already.

"Nuh uh, she's adorable." Luna contested, getting a nod of agreement from Oak.

"Adorable, aye." Hala snarked in deadpan, still a little irritated about Ash being banned from the room to keep the hatchling from being scared by the giant predator. "What are you gonna call it?"

"Velka." Harry replied with a snicker.

"I just know this is another of his stupid references." Adrastia muttered to herself.

XXXXX

The next few months passed without anything truly noteworthy happening. Harry tinkered with his many projects, did research and took notes. Velka rapidly grew to massive size, displaying great intelligence and even the ability to speak like a human, just as he had intended and hoped.

The rumors of Dol Guldur continued their slow spread, helped along by Adrastia's meddling. The free folk started referring to him as the Raven Lord and the Crowfather, much to his amusement.

Further south, another set of 'crows' were having much less fun. Harry made good on his word to Bloodraven and began confounding any black brothers that went ranging. Any of them that went into the Haunted Forest completely lost all sense of direction and often ended up blundering about in circles until they gave up and returned to their castles.

This was achieved with remarkable ease. The Haunted Forest was an enchanted wood and retained magic well. Harry allowed the Old Gods to take control of his spells and they kept the nosy Night's Watch out of what he considered his backyard.

When he was absolutely sure that Velka would be fine on her own, Harry asked Luna if she wanted to take a break from the daily grind and explore Chroyane.

XXXXX

11th day of the 6th moon, 234 AC. Dol Guldur.

"I don't have to listen to you!" Sigrid snapped at Adrastia, hands folded protectively over her gravid belly. "Harry won't keep you around for much longer anyway."

Adrastia raised an eyebrow that conveyed volumes of amused skepticism. "Really? How do you figure that?"

With Harry and Luna off in Chroyane, it was just the five of them, Bragni and the permanent guests that she was slowly turning into servants.

Predictably, the bitchiness and position jockeying that typically went on in female-only environments started as soon as Harry's dominating presence dissipated. It had barely been a full day and Sigrid was already trying to challenge her position as the alpha bitch.

Adrastia had expected it to happen, had counted on it even. The Thenn girl was the closest thing to a spoiled noble lady that the lands beyond the Wall could produce. Furthermore, she was pregnant and still a teenager, so rationality was at an all time low.

"What does he need you for?" Sigrid countered smugly. "You won't give him any children and you don't do anything else around here. And your skin is all wrong."

"Stop being such a stupid cunt, Sigrid." Hala sneered, instinctively keeping her body language unaggressive out of deference to her own advanced stage of pregnancy. "Adrastia's been with Harry longer than us. Have some fuckin' respect for that."

"But why should we listen to her?" Sigrid demanded. "We're carrying Harry's babes, not her!"

So predictable. No matter how different the culture was, the behavioral patterns stayed essentially the same. Sigrid thought that she could rally the other women against her by appealing to their emotions and common situation. Then they would attack her position with a united front and displace her as Harry's 'second favorite'. Of course, Sigrid, as the ringleader, would get the top spot.

Basic animal survival strategy. Secure the best possible position to ensure the survival of your offspring, which in the case of females generally meant hoarding the attention of the most powerful male. Sigrid probably didn't even understand what she was doing, blindly following the pull of her instincts. Instincts that Adrastia had preyed on by deliberately making her the only completely mundane woman in Harry's little harem.

Harry may have been right to assume that she had directed him at her for the connection it would create with the Thenns, but Adrastia did always like to play multiple angles at once if possible.

Thus far, Sigrid had been attempting to assuage her insecurities by wearing the most elaborate dresses available, as well as the Valyrian jewelry that Harry and Luna had taken on a lark during their last expedition. It hadn't worked of course, because Harry was not moved by flashy displays like that, leading Sigrid to switch to more aggressive tactics at the first opportunity.

But the silly girl didn't understand that she was just playing into Adrastia's hands. This ill-conceived attempt to rise higher in Harry's favor was the perfect opportunity to cement Hala's position as the leader of Harry's mortal women while she and Luna remained above them, immortal.

"Aye, she won't be givin' Harry any babes, but that don't mean he'll cast her aside." Hala growled at the Thenn girl. To her, the pecking order had been clear from day one and loyalty to the pack was everything. She wouldn't let Sigrid start a war within it.

Off the the side, Oak and Ava observed the drama with bemused smiles as they cradled their own pregnant bellies. The former's growing skill with the Greensight and the latter's laid back manner didn't lend themselves for aggressive behavior, so they didn't really understand why Sigrid was picking this fight.

Adrastia decided that it was time to end this little debacle. It had served its purpose already. Sigrid had been slapped down and Hala implicitly acknowledged as the leader after herself and Luna.

"Let me tell you something, child." She said to Sigrid with carefully feigned kindness. "I am over five hundred years old. I have spent most of that time at Harry's side. I was with him long before you were born, and will still be with him long after you are gone. You would do well to settle down and be grateful that he chose to share this part of his life with you, but understand that it is only a small portion of his life. You will grow old and die while Harry, Luna and I stay young."

Adrastia knew this for certain. Harry would never again share the Elixir of Life with anyone.

All four of the women were shocked. Their ages had never been mentioned before. Harry would probably be a bit upset to have missed it actually, but this moment of revelation was too powerful to waste on amusing him.

"So, five hundred years?" Ava eventually spoke up. "Sounds like shit to be livin' so long."

Adrastia smiled with at the demi-giant's blunt opinion. "It isn't always good, but I have seen much in the course of those years. Oh, the stories I could tell you!"

"Tell us one then." Oak requested, leaning forward curiously. Hala and Ava also looked interested, while Sigrid sulkily tried to pretend that she wasn't.

"Very well." Adrastia agreed as if she hadn't dangled that bait out there to provoke this exact reaction. With their low tech base, storytelling was one of the few forms of entertainment available to the free folk and these four still liked a good story even if Dol Guldur provided other amusements.

It wasn't the usual way she ensnared people in her webs, nor did it have the usual targets or purpose, but it wasn't any great challenge for Adrastia's carefully cultivated charisma and oratory skill.

XXXXX

11th day of the 6th moon, 234 AC. Essos, the Sorrows, Chroyane.

"Hmm, strange. I thought for sure that we'd find his ghost here." Harry said with a frown, staring at the withered skeleton suspended in a golden cage above the ruined city.

It was beyond doubt the mortal remains of Garin the Great, the Rhoynish prince that had ruled Chroyane when it was destroyed by the Valyrians. Given the circumstances of his death and the magic here being more than strong enough to sustain the existence of a ghost, why had he not left one behind?

"Maybe he's just hiding?" Luna offered.

"I suppose it's possible." Harry conceded. Wouldn't be the first ghost to shy away from the living. "well, at least there's still other interesting stuff to look at."

Unfortunately that proved to be somewhwat less true than he hoped. After being subjected first to dragonfire from scores of dragons, the devastation conventional armies cause, flooding by the Rhoyne and then a thousand years of decay, the city was thoroughly wrecked.

Still, it wasn't a complete bust. The stone men, the final stage of greyscale victims, were kind of interesting. They aimlessly wandered the ruined city, often congregating on the Bridge of Dreams. They didn't seem to eat or sleep and made great impressions of animated stone golems. A most peculiar affliction.

Curiously, greyscale and its more lethal cousin, the grey plague, were both known to occur in cold, damp climates. In fact, Harry had learned that the grey plague had wiped out half of Oldtown's population and three quarters of the Citadel less than a decade before their interdimensional crash landing. That might be another reason for Pycelle's early ascension to the rank of full maester besides his supposed brilliance.

What bothered Harry about this situation was the occurence of a clearly magical disease on the basis of simple cold and dampness. If it was just necrosis that would be one thing, albeit still a strange thing, but the flesh of the afflicted actually became petrified. No way was that mundane.

In point of fact, he strongly suspected that this unnatural mist had something to do with it. A vengeful malice clung to it. If the greyscale had something to do with the powerful curse that Garin called upon the Valyrians as his last act, then that would explain quite a bit, but it also opened up several new questions. Most prominently how greyscale got spread all around the world.

Harry supposed it was possible that it was a result of air particles being blown around by the wind, but that generally wasn't how magic worked.

Maybe it had something to do with Mother Rhoyne, the chief goddess of the Rhoynar? The immense river – not quite as long as the Nile on account of running straighter, but significantly wider on average – felt terribly angry, an anger driven by grief. The obvious water affinity might have been enough to create a sympathetic link between the greyscale and the water particles in the mist.

Could also have something to do with the many thousands of Valyrian ghosts trapped beneath the water in a state of eternal drowning, so many that the river damn near glowed to the sight of anyone that could see them.

Could even be a combination of both.

"I want to talk to Mother Rhoyne." Harry said with a thoughtful frown. "But I think she might try to drown me if I went down there."

"Or get you infected with greyscale." Luna added.

"Point." The two of them were dressed head to toe with only their eyes visible, and even that only through a Bubblehead Charm, as a counter-measure against infection. Harry was fairly certain he could cure it even if he wasn't outright immune, but it would still suck. "Fuck, I'm going to have to figure out how to make scuba gear."

"We'll also need a pulley."

Harry exhaled noisily. "I'm not in the mood for that right now. Let's have a look around the palace first, a basement or something might have survived."

XXXXX

The Palace of Sorrow.

Formerly called the Palace of Love, the seat of the Rhoynar royalty in Chroyane was excessively massive. It dominated an entire island that sat in the middle of the Rhoyne and was easily ten times the size of the Red Keep in King's Landing.

Harry was impressed by the complete lack of restraint of the builders and imagined that it must have been a beautiful display of architectural aesthetics in its heyday. Now it was a crumbling ruin, overgrown by thick moss and black vines, with the omnipresent fog washing out all the color until everything was a depressing grey. It could have been the setting for a Dark Souls game, that's how depressingly grey it was.

He and Luna walked through the ruined courtyard, mostly looking for basements or sealed vaults that might have survived the sacking.

When they got to what had apparently once been a semi-public library of some sort, Harry's already low opinion of the Valyrians dropped even lower. There was evidence of fire damage everywhere.

He hadn't really been expecting to find intact books with this kind of soggy climate hanging around for a thousand years – unless the Rhoynar's water wizards had thought to protect them from dampness – but to see evidence that the lizard-brains had deliberately been destroying knowledge?

"Like bloody toddlers." He grumbled and glared at nothing in particular. Little wonder that magic had been fading from the world with these morons destroying or enslaving everything around them.

If the Valyrians hadn't already blown themselves up, he would have done it for them after seeing this. Might have made a game of it even and done the Dark Lord shtick for giggles, stir up a proper orgy of chaos, rape and murder before sinking the entire fucking landmass beneath the sea. The Earthsingers had this fascinating ritualistic spell called the Hammer of the Waters which could conceivably do the trick if fed enough power. A civilization so utterly idiotic deserved nothing less.

"Stop pouting, Harry." Luna ordered dreamily. "Let's take a look at the palace proper."

"I am not pouting." Harry scowled and carefully kept his lips as thin as possible.

The palace proper was in far worse shape than the rest of the city – it looked as if a hundred dragons had subjected it to their combustive halitosis, which was probably exactly what happened. The entire structure had been slagged.

This was actually a good sign though. If they had been in such a rush to make a statement by burning down the main keep of the Palace of Love, then any underground vaults had probably been left untouched.

Luna pulled an enchanted pickaxe out of her hammerspace. "I didn't think we'd get ever get to use these again after that one time in Greece."

Ah yes, the lunatic obsessed with ancient legends who got it into his head to re-enact the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. He'd been so outraged when the two of them had dug through the labyrinth instead of navigating it.

Unfortunately for the crazy wizard, Harry had been even more outraged when he found out that the legendary artefact, at the center of the labyrinth, supposedly the shield once belonging to Ajax, was nothing more than a bad imitation.

At least it served as a good lesson about trusting his ability to discern truth where delusional madmen were involved.

"I hate digging downwards." Harry groused, pulling out his own pickaxe and using a quick transfiguration to extend the shaft. "It's murder on my back."

"We could do it with spells." Luna suggested.

Harry looked around sardonically at the stupidly massive pile of slagged rock. Worse, rock that had been slagged my dragonfire, which was magical.

"Sure, if we want to stay here, exhausting ourselves over and over casting disintegration spells. We might make it back home in time for the kids to be born, if we're lucky." He shook his head. "No, pickaxes it is, and backrubs later."

"Okay." Luna chirped and swung her pickaxe at the ground, the melted stone giving way before the spellforged tool as if it was no firmer than gravel.

XXXXX

Fifteen days of digging later, husband and wife finally broke through into the untouched lower passageways and were quickly vindicated in their efforts.

Luna cocked her head as she stared at a nondescript wall. "An illusion?"

"Yes, and a rather interesting one at that." Harry nodded. "It seems to work by projecting a false image through the water particles in the air. Not a technique I've seen before, but quite impressive that it's still functional."

The illusion of a dead end was further sold by the barrels and crates stacked together in front of it. Clever.

Harry and Luna made their way around the obstructions and passed through the illusionary wall, then found themselves going further underground almost immediately. After two minutes of going downwards and forwards, they came upon a great vault door.

"Hmm, warded." Harry noted, narrowing his eyes at the gleaming steel door. "Against corrosion at the minimum, but at least one of the wards on this thing has the feel of a trap."

Luna tugged on his arm and pointed at the ground. "Look, drains."

"Ah, of course." He said wryly. What else could you expect from hydromancers if not water-based traps? No doubt a section of wall would open somewhere on the stairway behind them and flood the passage if an attempt to force the vault was made. If getting smashed against the vault door by the water didn't kill you, then you'd surely drown before getting back out. "How troublesome, the key to this thing could be anywhere , if it even still exists, and I'll bet it was linked to the door with the Law of Relevance to boot, so it won't open any other way."

Luna pulled out her pickaxe again. "Left or right?"

Harry sighed and did the same. "Left."

"Then I'll take right." She enthused.

"Why?" He asked in confusion.

Luna gave him a deeply serious look. "Digging race."

"You're half my size." Harry said in exasperation. He wasn't even going to try arguing about what a waste of time and effort it was to dig two separate tunnels into the vault.

"Which means I'll only need to do half as much digging to break through." Luna argued.

"That's not..." Harry instinctively tried to protest the horribly flawed logic before recalling who he was talking to and gave up. "Fine, whatever. Just don't forget to reinforce the ceiling."

"See you on the other side!" She beamed and turned to strike at the wall.

XXXXX

Luna huffed and puffed as she swung the pickaxe one final time, breaking through the wall of the vault. She'd hurried as much as she could, using spells to clear out the debris and to fortify the ceiling as she went, now she was finally done.

"What kept you?" Harry asked in amusement, looking like he'd been in the vault for some time already.

"The stone." Luna replied honestly.

"Of course, how silly of me to ask."

She nodded in agreement. "Did you find anything interesting yet?"

"Books." He grinned, holding one up.

"That's great!" She beamed, happy for him. "But you don't know the Rhoynar language."

"I'll learn."

Luna merely nodded again and turned to look at what else was in here. "Ooh, that's a nice harp."

It really was. All graceful curves done in silver, with golden accents and studded with sapphires.

"Yeah, I'm getting the feeling that this vault was meant to hold items of personal, rather than monetary, value." Harry nodded and held up the book in his hand. "This book, for example, has the structure and feel of a journal."

Yes, that sounded right. There was a broken sword hanging on the wall, a deformed crown on a pedestal, a ripped and bloodied dress, a suit of armor with a hole in the breastplate, a portrait of a beautiful woman,...

"You're going to take it all anyway, aren't you?" Luna asked.

"Might as well, not like the original owners are around anymore." He shrugged. "The voices of some of these books also say that there are spells in them."

"And then we'll make a pulley?" She asked eagerly. She always liked playing with pulleys.

"Yes, then we're making a pulley." Harry sighed fondly.

XXXXX

Three days later...

"Alright, let's do this." Hary proclaimed, making a few final adjustments to his stretchy,fully enclosed, airtight diving suit. It was more magical than technological of course, so there was no oxygen tank and he could speak through the mask clearly.

"Remember to tug immediately if she tries to kill you." Luna reminded him, giving his harness a final check to make sure everything was buckled.

"Will do." Harry agreed and prepared to jump into the river.

"Wait!" Luna exclaimed.

"What?" He asked, checking himself over again for any problems.

"Remember to yell 'banzai' when you jump." She said seriously.

"Really?" Harry deadpanned.

"It's tradition." Luna nodded firmly.

"Where exactly?" Harry muttered, but then just shook his head. Luna would just say that it was surely a tradition somewhere. "BANZAI!"

"That was a good banzai." Luna commented to nobody in particular.

XXXXX

This world has way too many fucking ghosts. Harry groused to himself as the mass of specters flew through him like an icy spiritual river.

Seriously, He'd thought Hogwarts was bad with its habit of attracting ghosts due to the high magical concentration of the place, but this was just silly. And quite unnatural, for a given value of natural.

"Mother Rhoyne, would you please be so kind as to get your tortured souls out of my face." He requested politely of the enveloping presence he could feel. The angry goddess had already tried to unravel the enchantments on his diving suit, but his spells were ironclad. It would take her a great deal of time and effort to unmake them.

The mass of ghosts was pulled away and Harry suddenly felt almost like he had used Legilimency to dive into the mind of another, but not quite.

"You will join them, defiler!" Mother Rhoyne snarled, her 'voice' an angry burble of water.

"There is nothing left for me to defile here." Harry pointed out calmly. "All that remains of the Rhoynar is in Dorne and I haven't done anything to them."

"Chroyane is the graveyard of my children and you pick through it like a vulture." The goddess spat back.

"It was a thousand years ago and I'm not a particularly sympathetic man." Harry shrugged carelessly. "I did the same to the Valyrians if it makes you feel any better. Either way, your anger is wasted on me."

The waters around him swirled violently for a few moments before suddenly losing energy with a distinct slumping feeling.

"Leave me to my grief and my vengeance, Sorcerer." Mother Rhoyne said bitterly. "There is nothing left for you here."

"You're still here." He countered. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to answer some questions for me? I am prepared to trade favors for knowledge."

He would have never offered such a deal to the Seven or the Drowned God, nor likely to any god whose religion was still strong. They had proven to be unbearably full of themselves and the demands they made were completely unreasonable, but the goddess of a fallen people may understand that she was not the center of the universe.

For a moment it seemed as if Mother Rhoyne was prepared to reject him out of hand, but then the waters around him swirled thoughtfully.

"What kind of knowledge do you seek, and what kind of favors are you offering?" She asked cautiously.

"Knowledge of your nature, your origins, how you perceive the world and such things." Harry answered with a pleased smile. "As for my favors...well, ask for something and I'll tell you whether I'm willing to do it."

More of the eddies in the river flow that he was beginning to associate with her thinking sprung up around him.

"That knowledge is not meant for mortals..." Mother Rhoyne finally said. "but if you swear to protect the last of my children, those who call themselves the Orphans of the Greenblood, I will answer your questions."

Harry rubbed his masked chin as he considered it. "I won't protect them from their own foolishness, or from being culturally absorbed by the Dornish, but I can watch over them and prevent outside forces from harming them for as long as I am on this world."

"Including any future efforts by the Red Princes to outlaw their language, culture or worship of me." The goddess stipulated.

"Agreed." He had read of such attempts in the past and had no issue with preventing any further ones. A few mysterious deaths or Legilimency attitude adjustments should do the trick.

"And if there ever comes a time when they try to reclaim the lands of their ancestors, you will aid them and return what you took to the new royal family." She continued.

"Now you're starting to push your luck." Harry frowned. "But very well, if I'm still around and they try it then I'll help them, and I'll return what I took if they succeed."

The various knick knacks held no value to him, the magical items would be studied and the books copied long before that happened, so it wasn't much of a sacrifice.

"Then we have an accord." Mother Rhoyne said formally and he felt one half of a two-way magical binding hover between them.

"We have an accord." Harry agreed, feeling the binding snap into place. He had suspected that making deals with non-corporeal extra-planar entities would carry more weight than a simple agreement between humans, which had been another reason that he had been so intensely disagreeable with the Seven and the Drowned God.

"Ask your questions, Sorcerer." Mother Rhoyne prompted.

"Let's start with something simple." He said with a nod."Greyscale. Does it have something to do with this mist that hangs around Chroyane and if so, how has it spread across the world?"

"It does." The goddess confirmed. "The power of Garin's final curse still lingers over the city and has mingled with the suffering of the dragonlords whose souls I hold captive. Some of the cursed waters flow into the sea and some is whisked away by the wind."

"I thought so. Alright, next question. How did you come into being?"

"In truth, I know not." Mother Rhoyne admitted. "My first memories are of simple fisher folk that would one day become the Rhoynar thanking me for the bounty I gave. Over time, more came to worship me and I began to see them as my children to be nurtured and protected. I sense that I existed before that, but I have no memory of it."

"Hmm, interesting." Harry said with a thoughtful frown. "Is it that way with all the gods in this world?"

"I cannot say, the natures and motivations of other gods are impenetrable to me."

Harry was only mildly annoyed by the lack of direct answer. Even an admission of ignorance was an important clue, after all. "Very well, How do you perceive the world?"

The river swirled around him for a while before the answer came. "I am the Rhoyne and I see all within my body. Those who worship me shine like torches in the darkness. The followers of other gods are like distant sparks, visible only from a distance. Those who reject all gods – and those who place their faith in the ancestor trees of Westeros – are mere shadows in the dark, visible only when they are close to one of my own followers."

"How utterly fascinating." Harry's eyes gleamed beneath his mask. That was some very important information he'd just learned. "So I'm invisible to all the godlings of this world?"

"Your coming unto this world was like a falling star crashing into the water, sending great waves into the distance, but your soul is guarded and closed. I did not see you or your companion until you entered the city."

"Excellent. And speaking of souls, what happens to those of your worshipers after they die?"

"They simply pass onwards." Mother Rhoyne said and then got a little bit defensive. "These ones I only hold to punish them."

Harry didn't give two shits about what she did with either, he was only interested in knowing that not every god did the same thing apparently. The Drowned God definitely gobbled up the souls of his worshipers instead of letting them pass on. What the point of that was he still didn't know.

"A well deserved fate to be sure." He said diplomatically. "Are you able to lend any power to your worshipers?"

"If they be close enough and their will strong enough, yes."

"Even if they were born with no magical talent?"

"Even so." The goddess confirmed. "Garin had no skill with magic, yet he was able to call upon my power to avenge his people because of his great love for them, though it cost him his life to do so."

Harry restrained the urge to quip that clerics needed a nerf. The nature of this conversation would mean that Mother Rhoyne would actually understand what he meant even if she didn't know the context and he didn't need her getting all pissy and offended.

"Do you gain any power from worship?"

"Each heart open to me is a window into the world, but my influence is limited to the Rhoyne itself."

Evasive, but not quite a non-answer. Harry made particular note of this and determined to explore it further. "Is that because you are bound to the river or because of your followers' beliefs?"

The water around him churned uncertainly. "I...do not know."

Harry hummed thoughtfully. What a sorry godhood.

"What would happen to you if nobody believed in you anymore, if all your windows into the world were closed?"

Another uncertain churning, with a dash of aprehension this time. "I do not know."

I'll have to run some tests. He thought with a frown. Making sure that some minor godling had actually lost all of its worshipers was going to be problematic though.

"You've given me a lot to think about." He said aloud, preparing to yank on the line so that Luna would haul him out. "I'll be back to ask more questions once I've had time to consider what I've learned."

"That was not our agreement." She 'frowned'.

"Your part of the agreement was that you would answer my questions. No limit was placed on the number of questions, their nature or on the possibility of my return to ask more." Harry argued, focusing inward on the magical binding created by their verbal contract and deliberately straining it. Her objection had given him enough leeway to threaten it, and should she refuse to uphold her end then he would be able to break it without consequences to himself.

"Very well." Mother Rhoyne conceded.

XXXXX

6th day of the 8th moon, 234 AC. Dol Guldur.

Harry and Luna had been present for more than enough childbirths to be experts on it by sheer osmosis, but neither one had ever learned the spells and techniques that wizards and witches used to make the process quick and mostly painless, nor did they have any safe means to learn before the newest gaggle of his children came into the world.

Still, that didn't mean that Harry was unable to ease the process.

"Here, suck on this." He said, offering Hala a dark blue lollypop. "It'll numb the pain."

The skinchanger snatched it with her mouth without question, trusting him completely. Her water had broken not long ago and the contractions had already started, but Luna and Harry's utterly calm and unruffled attitude was serving to keep her calm in turn. She was scared, both for her baby's health and because of the unfamiliar experience, but not nearly as much as she would have been without them.

That trend continued held all the way to the end. Luna acted as a midwife while Harry held her hand and focused on keeping her calm. The baby was delivered without issue. After seven hours of labor, a healthy baby girl came screaming into the world.

She was quickly cleaned and then deposited into the euphoric new mother's arms. Hala was completely entranced by her daughter's bright green eyes and the black fuzz on her head.

"You've already chosen a name for her." Harry stated more than asked once she began breastfeeding.

Hala bit her lip and looked down at her daughter. Yes, she had chosen a name, but she was hesitant to give it.

"It's alright, she won't die." Harry reassured, knowing what the issue was. "I won't let her."

It was one of the more telling free folk customs to not name their children until they were at least two years old. The infant mortality rate was so high that parents avoided humanizing their children to make the grief more bearable.

"Jala." Hala whispered, staring down lovingly at her precious daughter. "Her name is Jala."

"It's a good name." Harry agreed.

"I will give you a son next time." She promised, giving his hand a firm squeeze.

"That isn't for you to decide." He said with an amused smile, returning the squeeze. "But don't worry about it. I don't care whether you give me sons or daughters."

Indeed, his main purpose in having children here had been to see what would happen with their magic. As he had half-expected would be the case, the newly born Jala was not a witch in the style of Earth, but he could sense a powerful gift for the arts of the First Men. The world of their origin exerted more sway over them than his own power, but his magic had clearly energized the native potential. Interesting.

"I'll call in the others." Luna beamed happily, gently stroking Jala's head one last time before flouncing over to the door.

Ash was the first one in, almost bowling Luna over in her eagerness to make sure that her human was alright.

The big direwolf gave Hala's face a sloppy lick before beginning to snuffle at the newborn girl.

Most people would be highly alarmed to see a giant predator sniffing at a baby, but neither Harry nor Hala were worried. They could both feel the fascination that Ash felt towards the tiny pink thing and the immediate sense of protectiveness for the newest pack member.

Sigrid, Ava and Oak entered more sedately, each of them also looking ready to drop any day now. Bragni followed behind them, holding hands with his own pregnant woman, although 'girl' might be more appropriate, seeing as she was just barely past sixteen.

Harry had only snorted out a laugh when his idiot apprentice had stutteringly confessed that he'd gotten her pregnant.

"My boy is going to be next." Sigrid declared boastfully some time later, although very quietly in deference to the sleeping baby.

"No he isn't." Oak countered, feeling quite sure about that. "Ava's boy is coming next."

"But she was the last of us that Harry stole." The Thenn girl protested indignantly.

"So?" The demi-giant asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering what that had to do with anything.

Sigrid seemed to swell in preparation of vehemently arguing her point.

"Girls, let's keep the competitiveness out of the birthing chamber, shall we?" Adrastia purred warningly from where she was leaning on the doorframe. "I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate having your clan-sisters fighting after you just gave birth any more than Hala does."

Sigrid looked at the new mother and blanched slightly at the hard stare she was receiving.

"Sorry." She muttered.

"Come along, let's give them some space." The Black Widow more or less ordered, quickly herding everyone except Harry and Luna out of the room. Beneath her controlled manner, she was just a little bit giddy. Only a few more years and she would be able to start playing games in earnest.

XXXXX

As Oak had predicted, Ava was indeed the one to go into labor next, a mere six days after Hala. The labor lasted nine hours, but her powerful constitution made it low-risk and uncomplicated.

"He's a big one." Luna commented with wide eyes when the the newborn boy was deposited into his mother's arms.

"Aye." Ava nodded happily, very pleased at her son's size, and by his green eyes and black hair. "D'you have a name for him, Harry?"

The wizard in question tried not to look or sound too amused when he made his suggestion. "How about Havel?"

"Havel." Ava sounded out the name before smiling. "I like it. Havel it is."

Harry smiled as well. I'm making him a suit of armor carved out of a boulder and a club made from one of Cannibal's teeth when he grows up. Maybe also a Girdle of Stone Giant Strength while I'm at it?

XXXXX

Oak was next in line to give birth, much to Sigrid's disgruntlement. Her labor was pretty much the exact opposite of Ava's, being quick and risky. She would have bled out if not for the Blood-Replenishing Potion that was kept on hand.

"I was certain that I would die in childbed." She said afterwards, holding her newborn daughter and still looking a bit surprised to be alive. "But you saved me."

"Of course we did." Luna commented as if it was obvious. She was squeezed into the bed next to her friend, as if to reassure herself that the danger was passed.

"What should we name her?" Oak asked after smiling at the sentiment.

Harry had already cycled through the list of names that came to his mind that wouldn't be out of place beyond the Wall, and was once again drawn to a reference.

"Nenya."

"'Tis a good name." Oak nodded agreeably.

And I've still got Vilya and Narya in reserve if I have any more girls. Harry thought to himself, amused by the thought of naming his daughters after the Elven Rings of Power. But it did fit in a way, as the newly named Nenya was powerfully gifted in magic.

XXXXX

After the complications during Oak's labor, Sigrid was no longer quite so eager to pop out her sprog, but her water broke the very day after.

Despite her fears, the labor proceeded without complications and another black-haired, green-eyed boy was brought into the world.

"I want to name him Sigvar." Sigrid said when the topic of names came up.

"Sigmar." Harry countered firmly, because like hell was he letting such a perfect opportunity slip past him.

"I suppose that's just as good." The Thenn girl conceded, a bit confused by Harry's insistence on the subject.

He's probably not going to be an emperor, but he's definitely getting a warhammer when he grows up. Harry thought to himself, much amused.

XXXXX

10th day of the 9th moon, 234 AC. Earthsinger Warren.

Harry carefully enunciated the words of the True Tongue, feeling the earth rumble beneath him in response.

Luna responded with equal care, her own words settling down the tremors.

"Incredible." Leaf said, still a little disbelieving. "No man has ever spoken the True Tongue, but you show a mastery of it that few even among our people have ever had."

"To be fair, we do have hundreds of years of preparation, of a sort." He said with a smirk.

"We should celebrate." Luna beamed and looked at Leaf. "You could come to Dol Guldur and meet our new children as well."

Leaf sighed and smiled slightly at her friend's persistence. "I do not believe that would be wise."

"But why not?" Luna pouted.

"The world of men is not for us." The diminutive being repeated for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Yeah, about that..." Harry cut in. "What if I told you that I had a way to restore your numbers?"

"How could you?" Leaf asked, puzzled. "The gods limited our numbers with good reason."

"I've never been one to care about what reasons gods may have." He grinned. "You may not be able to have great numbers of children the natural way, but there are alternatives."

"Alternatives?" Leaf asked cautiously.

"After much research into your biology and experimentation, I've successfully created an artificial womb for your species." Harry said smugly. "One of your males would have to provide the seed, but conception would be guaranteed and it would produce six children at a time."

He greatly enjoyed the absolutely gobsmacked look this got him. Leaf spent far too much time moping, so this was a particularly delicious expression for her face.

Truth be told, he had for a time considered stealing or seducing an Earthsinger female, but it quickly became clear that it would be pointless and even stupid. Not only was the variation in genital size enough to cause damage during sex, but childbirth would likely also be fatal due to the size of the baby relative to the mother. As usual when attempting cross-species reproduction, it was necessary for the female to be bigger if the species were significantly different in size.

He could still use the artificial womb himself of course, but at this point he was already fairly sure of what the results of hybridization would be; an unusually powerful half-human greenseer. All four of his new children would have the Greensight, the gifts awakened by his magic no matter how deeply they had been buried in their mothers.

"Would the gods not disapprove of this?" Leaf asked skeptically.

"They seemed quite happy about it, actually." Harry shrugged.

Finally, Leaf gave a hesistant, hopeful smile. "Then we would like to see this...artificial womb."

"And then you'll come to Dol Guldur?" Luna added persistently.

Leaf sighed again, this time in defeat. "Very well."