Chapter 31:

31

Balancing the Scales: The Sage Hero's Story


The car pulls into the cave entrance, Malcolm is trying desperately to open the door and flee. "Three words Malcolm, child safety locks." Kaz laughed. Lucia reaches over and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Kaz, you can stop teasing him now." She reprimands Kaz as she tries to comfort Malcolm. Kaz parks the car and unfastens his safety belt, he looks back at Malcolm and says, "You stay with us and say nothing until we tell you. We want to introduce you to some very important people." Kaz explains. He nods nervously, Kaz exits the vehicle, lets him out and flips the tab on the door to disengage the child lock. Kaz leads the group up the hill and to the first stop at the bookstore, Kaz stops and asks Lucia to wait outside with Malcolm for a minute.

Kaz heads inside to find Ishvara at her desk in the back, snout deep in one of her books. He greets her and hugs her foreleg playfully, she lowers her head down to his level and receives a quick kiss on the cheek. "How have you been, Mister Kaz?" Ishvara speaks in perfect English. Kaz is shocked, "Surprised? I learned quite a bit from the books you lent me. What can I do for you today dear?" She asks as she takes off her glasses and sets them back in their box. Kaz compliments her on learning to speak English so quickly, then he explains that he has a good friend from the capital outside. He tells her that he is a tailor and has a passion for beastmen. He then asked if she would want to meet him, to show him that dragons aren't as scary as he'd thought. Ishvara scolds Kaz, telling him this isn't a good idea, however she trusts him. In the end she agreed to meet him, "Thanks Ishvara! Come by later for supper." He tells her. She nods and puts her glasses back on and gets back to her book as he leaves, Kaz waves to the others and tells them to follow him back to the manor.

The group arrives back at Kaz's manor, they are greeted at the door by Telos. He bows to them and opens the main doors, "Welcome home Kaz, Miss Lucia, Miss Tasi, Little Zavi." He says with a smile, Kaz repeats it back to Malcolm so he can understand. He then pulls Telos aside, "Where is Saphana?" He asks. Telos simply points to the fireplace, Kaz runs over and gets Saphana up. She knew he was bringing a guest home, "Do I look alright, love?" She asks Kaz. He gives her a kiss on her snout and brings her to the doors. "Malcolm, please meet Saphana. My wife, along with Lucia and Tasi. Saphana, this is the gentleman who made the dress I got you." He explains. Malcolm begins to sweat, "H-how do y-you do m-miss?" Malcolm stutters and bows shakily. Saphana bows in return, "Malcolm? Love. Dress. Malcolm made." She tries her best to speak English, but it is still a work in progress. Malcolm begins to tear up, "Oh this truly is a wonderful day! Thank you for your kind words Miss Saphana!" He cheers. "May I get a better look at you? I'm getting all kinds of ideas for new lines of clothes just gazing at your magnificent figure!" Malcolm begs. Saphana nods, Lucia starts the fire under the pot and begins to stew the meat for supper.

After Malcolm finishes jotting down notes and measurements, he is pulled aside along with Telos. Kaz retells how he came to meet Telos, about the scars, everything. Malcolm looks down with sadness, but Telos puts a hand on his shoulder. Kaz told Malcolm his plan, he wanted to get a group of important figures or prominent business owners to meet a few dragons and prove that humans and dragons don't need to be at each other's necks. The same things with beastmen, get a few basic human rights set for them. Easing the tension between them would be great, he also told him about the Human-Dragon language guide he was writing. Malcolm stares at Kaz, "That is one hell of a goal Mister Kaz. I cannot honestly say how much help I would be, but you may count me in. It would help my business as well, more beautiful beastmen shopping at my store. Oh how nice that would be!" He says, envisioning all manners of fluffy citizens browsing his store, he reaches out to shake Kaz's hand. Telos leaps upon hearing this and wraps Malcolm in a hug. Malcolm is shocked, but he pats Telos on the back, and softly strokes his thick fur.

"Don't speak a word of this to anyone Malcolm, not until we get further along." Kaz tells him. "Now, I wanted a smaller favor. Could you put together your nicest suit for my man Telos here?" Kaz laughs and sets a pouch of coins on the table. Malcolm chuckles and grabs his measuring tape, "That's all? Of course my friend!" He replies and leaves him to it. A bit later as Kaz was walking into the main hall he sneaks up behind Lucia who was cooking supper, he wraps her in a hug , "You were a great help today, thank you." He whispers in her ear as she softly moans. A loud knock at the main door interrupts their intimate hug. Kaz kisses her on the cheek and goes to get the door, he opens them to find Ishvara on the doorstep. He welcomes her inside and shows her in, he tells her that his guest is busy with Telos at the moment and will join us shortly. "Thank you Mister Kaz. I also brought you a book I think you'd be very interested in." She replies and drops a thick tome she had tucked under her wing into his arms. "Water Based Transformation Magic?" Kaz reads aloud. His eyes widen and he leaps up and grabs onto Ishvara's neck and hugs her tightly, "Oh, thank you Ishvara! This is great!" He cries hanging from her neck.

Kaz then leads Ishvara into the main hall and then he goes to check on Telos and Malcolm. He opens the door to the back room and finds Telos shirtless and Malcolm rubbing his belly, Malcolm sees Kaz come in and retracts his hand right away and grabs a swatch of fabric as if he was working. Kaz chuckles, "How's it coming along guys? You seem to be getting along well." Kaz asks nonchalantly. Malcolm's face turns red, "Well, I managed to get the pants put together. I'm quite proud of the special fastener I made just to accommodate for tails in the back." He says triumphantly, "I was taking measurements for the coat and couldn't help myself when I felt the wondrously soft fur on his stomach." Malcolm continues looking off to the side avoiding eye contact. Kaz laughs, "You really like beastmen don't you? Glad we have that in common." Kaz adds.

Malcolm looks him in the eye, "Yes, I can tell you absolutely adore other species women. You managed to wed three of them, even a dragon for god's sake." Malcolm says jokingly. Kaz says he'll tell the story another time, he invites him into the main hall for supper. Malcolm and Telos hop to their feet and follow close behind. "I must say Kaz, your home is awfully lavish for an adventurer." Malcolm states. "We all built it together. The land was a gift from father, er. Lord Salamat." Kaz stumbles over his words. 

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