While he was busy checking stats, he felt a tap on the back of his head. Turning around, he saw Celeste smiling and gesturing for him to follow her outside. She guided him to the wagon, where he noticed all the boxes were gone. They then went back inside, exchanging information as they walked.


    "I told you I''d sell it all. What can I say? I just have a knack for selling." Marcus narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her as she spoke. She gave his armor a playful smack.


    “Your price is not the WORLDS price. I just know a few people and in a few places and even here I used some leverage to get some of the deals to break in our favor. Most people can not afford me even back at Isabella’s.” His eyes narrowed again as Celeste broke out in laughter.


    “A few gold marks? Me? You sweet summer child that’s how I knew you were not from here or had much experience. For the ‘massages’ that I provide for you on occasion it would be no less than a platinum mark and that’s the ‘basic’ package. You are just my type so I lowered the price to basically my cover charge. I know I''m worth a bonehead.”


    After teasing him a few times, she finally explained everything to him in detail.


    Celeste managed to sell all the food, beverage, resource, and tool boxes, earning a neat sum of 134 platinum. However, due to not being a citizen of Hollowridge, she had to pay a 20% tax, leaving her with roughly 107 Platinum and 20 Gold pieces. Although she didn''t find any potential new members, she did connect with some of her contacts who could arrange Slayer Corp member quests with ease. While this seemed promising, he needed to inform her about the situation.


    As he began to debrief her on the Antonia Family, Camila, and the offer to work with them and in a major quest in exchange for working for them for a year.


    “Yes, she intends to get you to level 300 and that means me as well. Because we are linked we probably have to share what''s going on eventually or something but not immediately. I think while this could be risky, I think it could be good for us. The Antonia Family is a well respected family. They protect towns and such. Most of the higher level guards in Silveroak are members of the Antonia family. I like the idea of working with them.”


    Marcus thought for a moment confused.


    “Just how big is this Antonia Family?”


    “The Antonia Family is one of the 20 Great Families in Ervasta. To be recognized, you need to have at least three members of your family be at least level 3000, have at least a 100 family members, and at least 2 Paragons that have influence in a major town or region. They protect other regions from the Undead and help with the lizards. I am not sure how it all works but apparently the only reason Silveroak is not overrun with undead is because of them. I am not sure how or why but they are able to warp or teleport deep into Undead territory.” Marcus raised an eyebrow looking at the woman confused before she explained.


    “What we have been fighting and cleaning up are the monsters that slip between the cracks or ones that sneak through. There are millions and possibly billions of undead deep into the frontier. The only thing that prevents them from attacking Silveroak are mercenary groups, adventurers and the Antonia Family. It''s said that they kill tens of thousands of undead a day just to be able to afford the peace we have.”


    Celeste looked around before speaking again. “I do think that we should accept it but I am not sure if you should disclose the Chosen and Herald information. They could try to exploit you. I would just say that we work together for now until we know we can trust them. It doesn’t have to be too long but long enough to at least get a proper feel about the situation. “


    Marcus agreed he thought about giving it a month or so to really test everything out.


    After speaking more they decided to head towards the Antonia Estate deeper into Hollowridge. As they traveled through the night roads of the city they were surprised by just how big the city was.


    As they wandered through the city at night, it thrummed with the lively energy typical of any large city he had seen back home. The streets were a mosaic of diverse people, with shopkeepers attending to their vibrant displays and the enticing scents drifting from busy restaurants. After absorbing the urban symphony, they boarded their Rig Caravan and drove through the sparkling city lights toward the Antonia Estate.


    As they drove around the city it felt like the more rustic feel of Druid’s Grove was gone everyone dressed


    Marcus saw what looked like a massive gated area with dozens of guards around the place.


    This had to be the Antonia Estate.


    The Antonia estate was an impressive marvel of nature, a sprawling network of towering trees that reached skyward, at least ten stories high. Five mighty trees stood connected, their branches intricately woven together to form a living fortress. Nestled deep within the bustling city, the estate was encircled by formidable walls, rising to a daunting height of at least 30 feet. These barriers were draped with menacing barbed vines and sharp thorns, creating a natural armor that both protected and isolated the sanctuary within.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    As they reached the gate they were met with a tall man with fiery red hair trapped underneath a metal helmet with a symbol of what he imagined was a family crest, a blood red shield with a hammer and staff crossed behind the shield.


    The man quickly spoke up as they arrived.


    “How can I help you?” The man looked him up and down and saw that he was different and looked much more like a warrior than a simple commoner or merchant and focused more with his hand on his weapon. As he explained himself and his invitation by Carmila and Deacon he was shown inside the gates. As they were led inside their vehicle was taken by what Marcus thought was a squire or apprentice. With Marcus and Celeste now walking towards the central tree with the guard he quickly spoke.


    “Camila and the rest of the heads of the family that are home are having dinner right now in the Mess Hall. I doubt you are lying but she will be able to confirm herself and you can have dinner as well if you are so inclined.”


    Marcus nodded as they were ushered through the enormous wooden doors of the building, and he was taken aback by the sheer vastness of the place. The entrance hall stretched out before them, bustling with activity. Dozens of people of all ages moved about, their vibrant tufts of red hair creating a kaleidoscope of shades ranging from deep crimson to lively magenta. The air buzzed with the hum of conversations and the shuffling of feet, filling the expansive space with a lively energy.


    “The Mess Hall is on Base Floor 1. Just a bit further.”


    As they strolled through the first floor with the guard, it was clear this area served as the reception—a hub where warriors came to recharge, exchange equipment, and recover after training. Marcus observed several mentor-like figures guiding children in simulated class sessions. As they ventured further, they arrived at a grand staircase wide enough to accommodate 4-5 people passing by simultaneously.


    As the smell of freshly cooked food hit his nose his mouth began to water as he smelled fresh bread, roasted meats and vegetables. He heard the sound of laughter and merriment as they descended down stairs. It was over 200 people with flaming red hair, despite the guard being a hume he saw that all of them came in various different subraces of Ume but they all shared the red hair.


    He saw Camila sitting down and smiling at a table with a large man with a flaming red beard and long red hair with grey highlights throughout it. There were also  several other men and women at that table of 10 people that were set apart from everyone else. The room was filled with large tables pushed against the walls as men, women and children danced with each other. The guard grabbed a mug and slapped it on the table until it got the attention of everyone in the room.


    “Father Briron and Sister Camila, we have two people here. One of them, whose name is Marcus, said "you invited him here to train for Castle Duskbone.” With that mentioned several murmurs were whispered before Camila herself whispered in the large red bearded man ear as he nodded and looked him up and down. After several moments Camila stood up and raised her glass.


    “Welcome to our family estate! It''s a pleasure to see you have decided to join us. This is Marcus and he is talented. So much so that I will be personally training him. " As she said several whispers before pointing to Celeste and smiling. “We will have my cousin Lucille teach you…Celeste?”


    As Celeste looked the woman up and down she noticed who this woman was and quickly nodded before lowering her eyes.


    “Please, these are your room keys. You will each stay on the 3rd floor of Central. For now let''s enjoy the party, Father is home.” With that she walked over, handed them keys and pushed them onto the dance floor laughing.


    They each found themselves dancing with people. Celeste found herself dancing with a Ghanume with dusky color skin with a bald head and a red beard man almost 8 feet tall as Marcus found himself dancing with a Dume woman with asian-like features with her hair falling down her face in red braids.


    The music was a mixture of a middle eastern and chinese influence as the string and wind instruments danced along with the rest of them. As they danced Marcus felt like he did back at home  and really got to get really lost he started to sing and dance with various people.


    As he did the electric slide and looked over at Celeste and she was a much more elegant dancer than him as danced in what he imagined was ballroom dancing with an older man that looked to be in his late 70s.


    As Celeste looked at Marcus wrap his arm around several men and women as he began to sing and dance she smiled. She could tell he was struggling to come to terms with the violence that had to deal with and that this was a breakthrough.


    On the nights they spent together there were several nights where he woke up in a cold sweat or called out names in his sleep. She seriously worried about him over the past few weeks getting to know him better. She had seen men like him in the past.


    Men who were idealistic about the world that should be something that it wasn’t. She was not given that luxury. She had to face humanity at its worst and most vulnerable. She had held nobles and great soldiers that curled up as they began to relieve their trauma.


    She was not a saint but, what she could give was a woman’s touch. She would make sure that she would keep in whole as she could on their journey. She could not be the Sun that guided people forward but what she could be was the space that kept the Sun in orbit.


    Have fun for once and lay your burdens down at least for tonight cowboy.