Angela took her baby back gleefully as she held onto him. She had sensed what she said next from the moment she entered the room. She had gone through how she would tell them a million times but she settled on just blurting it out. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so quick to say that.” She chuckled towards the very shocked Dalanesca as she said Angela was mistaken. It only took the goddess a few moments to figure out that Angela wasn’t trying to pull one over on her.

Letting Marth and Dalanesca have their moment Angela looked down at Rohan. He had other plans as the child’s song filled the room. It was an amazing melody, much like the one he performed at his own name day. “Yes, you are pregnant,” Angela mused as she snuggled Rohan against her. 

Listening to Dalanesca’s words she chuckled, “Now that is sappy. I thought I heard all the sap from Drae’s mouth.” She was teasing once more. “You’ve only been pregnant a few hours. My record time of telling someone they’ve conceived was within four hours. You can thank my niece for that one. She just gave birth to beautiful twins.”

A sly look came to Angela’s face as she thought about it. “Maybe I should lie to you! I jest, it is hard. You will hate on your spouse most likely. Keira got a hold of vases and other breakables. If Torn wasn’t so nimble he would have been nailed a few times. It’s painful but it is over rather quickly as long as we don’t have a breach or problem. If it is too big of a problem I have to get the babies out by force…” Her mind went to Bryony and she frowned. “There are cases when the babes don’t make it. My oracle just had that happen to her. Her spouse is still trying to tell her she was pregnant… If the baby doesn’t make it then you are left to either give birth to the dead baby if it is far enough along OR I take it out surgically. Never the less, you are a goddess and I’m sure the baby will be healthy. There are risks even we have. I’ll want to see you every few weeks up until the last trimester then we will see each other every few days. Your body might be too powerful for the baby and I’ll have to balance you out. It all depends and everyone is different. You wanted to know what it’s truly like and I’m not about to sugar coat it. I’ve never lost a baby and I don’t intend to. Those I do cut out dead are usually like that when they get to me. I’ve never lost a mother either. My daughter Gissa died during labor but I wasn’t home… So just make sure you get to me. Call me. Whatever.”

Switching back to a happier topic she just smiled, "I also want to marry you two."

Marth hugged Dalanesca a little tighter as she replied to him. “Wow. Yes, that is a bit sappy,” he said with a smirk, and proceeded to listen to Angela’s explanation of what to expect in the coming months. After she was done, and had announced her desire to perform the ceremony, Marth finally chimed in. “Like you said, Angela, as long as we keep you within earshot we should be fine.” With his arm still around Dalanesca, he nudged her. “And if push comes to shove, I’m fairly certain you’ll hear her when she telepathically screams for help,” he said, jokingly.

He then went over to Martin and nudged him. “Hey, Martin. I’m going to need a best man, and as it happens, my old mentor is… Well, excluded from such duties. Would you fill in?”

The young lord sighed, and stood up. “Let me get this straight. I, a mortal man, am to be the best man in a wedding where the bride and minister are both goddesses, standing beside you which are now my spiritual superior despite being an atheist a few months ago, quite probably in a temple-realm in which I would not dare trespass for more than a few hours, and be seated next to - and engage in casual conversation with - the very gods and goddesses I have spent my entire life worshipping as superpowerful, immortal, mysterious beings far above the capacity of my mortal understanding - the same kind of deity which you, my mortal friend, have just made pregnant on top of everything else. Did I miss anything?”

Martin looked calmer than he ever had, but his voice had a slight edge to it - showing that he wasn’t far away from going completely into shock. This resulted in marth standing in awkward silence for a few moments, before hesitantly stammering. “N-no..? No, I think you’ve got it.”

Martin nodded firmly, and said “Good. Just checking,” before promptly slumping to the floor, fainted.

Marth turned to Angela and Dalanesca, sighed, and shrugged. “Well. I suppose it’s a lot to take in for him,” he said, too awkward to do anything but state the painfully obvious. He then looked at Dalanesca, pondering. “Who’re you going to pick, Dalanesca? For maid of honour, I mean. Obviously, Angela won’t be able to fill both roles.”

Dalanesca took in everything that Angela said, blinking slowly and nodding automatically as her fellow goddess spoke to her.  She had seen Angela go through her pregnancy with Rohan and it seemed as though she had no difficulty with it - but how many time had Angela given birth?  This was something that Dalanesca had never experienced, let alone even thought about in more than a fleeting manner before.  It was a lot to take in, but she was strong willed enough to handle it, even if she felt a bit light headed at the prospect. “I won’t hesitate to contact you if I need you, Angela, you are well aware of that,” she added, with a bit of a smile.  She was certainly not hesitant to request Angela’s help when it was needed - help with her pregnancy would be no different.  Her smile faded significantly as she shot Marth a disdainful look when he mentioned telepathic screaming.  “Let’s not talk about things like that just yet, yeah?” she said, nudging him back a bit.

When Angela shifted the subject to her marrying the two of them, Dalanesca simply beamed.  “Do you think I would want anyone other than you to do it?” she said in response.  The thoughts of her pregnancy still spun in her mind, but she welcome the change of pace with the change in conversation.  Her attention turned to the exchange between Marth and Martin, and she could not help but realize the gravity of the situation as Martin spilled it all out in a very calm voice.  

She found herself quite surprised that Martin was taking things so well, and almost laughed at the misgivings in Marth’s voice as he spoke to the young nobleman - though her laughter quickly turned to a quiet noise of surprise as Martin flat out fainted in front of them.  Marth’s lack of worry for the man’s well being took her off guard for a moment, but she soon realized that her emotions were running high and a mortal human fainting was really nothing to worry about.  

“It is a lot to take in, for anyone… let alone a mortal who has just had his world view completely changed,” she said, with a slow nod.  Marth’s next question for her gave her slight pause.  “Suppose I’ll ask Moliira,” she said.  “One Triune officiating, one being married, and one as a witness, it seems only fitting, does it not?” she asked.  At that moment, Angela expressed her weariness and after offering the couple another congratulatory gesture, took her leave with Rohan.

Dalanesca glanced at Martin once more, sighing.  “I suppose we should get him taken care of, yeah?” she asked Marth.  “Shall we summon some magisters to tend to him, or would you rather take it upon yourself?”  Waiting for his answer, she wandered back over to her bed and sat down, the weight of her newfound information settling on her shoulders.  She could feel her eyes burning, and was suddenly hit with an overwhelming urge to cry - and she did.

Sobs wracked her body, and she lay down sideways on the bed, resigning to let Marth deal with the Martin situation.  It was just too much for her to deal with at the current moment, and letting her emotions out was surely going to be more helpful than bottling them up.  Pulling her knees up to her chest, she curled up, the sobs quieting but tears still streaming from her eyes.  It was clear that she was not sad - she just had far too much to deal with it, and much like how Martin dealt with it by fainting, she was dealing by crying. 

Marth looked at Martin, slumped on the floor, and sighed. “Yeah. In my defense, there was no way to blunt that blow for him.” He stepped out into the hallway, and hailed a magister, arranging for Martin to be moved to a separate room and cared for. When he came back, he saw Dalanesca slumping into bed crying, and with a sad smile, he went over to her and crept into the bed next to her.

As he was laying in bed spooning her, he thought about the ramifications of the news. It would be a challenge, to be sure. Balancing their duties with raising a child would be difficult for the both of them, and Angela had risen some concerns. However, Marth was, all things said and done, optimistic. He waited until Dalanesca’s sobs calmed down a little before speaking again. “I know it’s a lot to take in, milady. But I’ll promise to pull through as a father and husband, if you promise me to do the same as mother and wife.”

As Dalanesca calmed down, Marth eventually tugged at her shoulder to get her to look at him, and gave her a quick kiss. “Come on. You may be pregnant, but there’s still a job to do. If Kavesz is actively looking for more shards, he needs to be shut down.” He climbed out of bed, and began readying himself for travel again. “Let’s go see if they’ve shaken some life into Martin. We need that voucher if we’re going to force Kavesz’s hand before he learns about you.”

Dalanesca calmed a bit more as Marth slid into bed next to her.  She was grateful for his silence until her crying had receded, for she had just needed a bit of time to let her emotions take over.  When she had calmed even further, Marth spoke to her, and she responded softly.  “Of course I promise those things… I just wasn’t expecting this to top everything off,” she said, a hand coming to rest on her still very flat stomach.  Of course, it would be some time before the fact that she was carrying a child would show - they had conceived a child only hours ago - but the thought that there was already a tiny sprout of life forming inside of her was still alien to her.  “We will be fine - I know that.  It’s just going to take me a bit of adjustment time for the idea.  After all, it wasn’t planned,” she said, with a knowing smile.

She turned to look at him willingly when he pulled at her, enjoying the quick kiss that he gave her.  “You’re right,” she said, sitting up and wiping the few remaining tears from her eyes.  “Wedding planning can wait and we’ve got quite some time before we will be parents - let’s deal with Kavesz,” she said, and it was clear on her face that she meant it.  Destroying the shards was still high on her priority list, even with all of the other events taking place currently.  She straightened out her clothing and stood up, walking to the door.  Grabbing the handle, she cracked it open, and turned back to him.  “After you, love,” she said, gesturing out into the hallway.  She assumed that Martin would respond more favorably to Marth’s appearance first, if he were awake, after having gone unconscious so suddenly.

Marth followed Dalanesca to the room Martin had been placed in. Luckily, he had woken up again, and was nibbling on a piece of fruit as Marth entered. “So… That was not a dream.” Marth gave Martin a sad smile. “No, it wasn’t.” “She’s really a god.” “Yes.” “She’s really going to marry you.” “That’s the plan.” “And you really knocked her up.” “Goddess of fertility said so.” “And you need me to be your best man.” “Best man for the job.”

Martin sat in silence for a brief moment, before sighing, resigning to the truth. “Alright. Was there anything else?”

Marth replied with a firm nod. “I didn’t just bring you here to share news about my lovelife… And its results,” Marth said half-jokingly. “There’s another matter. We need a voucher for two thousand silver, cashable in Wyllmochvar.”

This provoked a raised eyebrow from Martin. “Two thousand? Marth, you have a goddess beside you. What on Revaliir would you need that much money for?”

Marth, in reply to this, shook his head. “We’ve counted up commodity gems to compensate. The money is secondary, see, it’s the voucher that matters.”

Martin looked confused. “I don’t follow.”

“My plan involves confronting my old mentor, a man by the name of Kavesz Morlaverli. He’s a senator in Wyllmochvar now, and his position is consolidated. It’d take a lot to force his hand and make him slip up,” Marth replied.

“Senator? Oh… Paper trail. You want a paper trail that’ll spook him.” Martin looked like he was catching on.

“Correct,” Marth responded. “One that can be traced back to a known demon-hunter organization, perhaps. And two thousand is a substantial amount. By the time he picks up the paper trail, enough time will have passed for me to have put that money to use. That’ll force him to make a move,” he continued, smiling slyly at Martin, who by now understood what marth needed the voucher for.

“Adeluni trade guild cheque should do it. I have a few on me, hang on.” Martin wrote up the cheque and handed it to Marth, with a firm nod. “Don’t spend it all in one place,” he joked.

“I won’t”, Marth said, with a grin. “My steward will see to your compensation. For now, Dalanesca and I have to leave,” he said, stuffing the cheque into a pocket in his sleeve.

“Not bringing me along?” Martin asked.

“Not this time,” said Marth. “Dalanesca’s origins are unknown to Wyllmochvarian authorities. You’re too high-profile,” he said. “But we’ll be fine. I have a plan.”

Martin nodded. “Alright, then. I’d say ‘gods be with you’, Marth, but it seems they are so much more than that,” he said, finally able to chuckle. “Oh, and lady Dalanesca… Congratulations,” he finished, as Marth and Dalanesca left the room.

“Okay,” Marth said, smiling at Dalanesca. “Down to business.” He closed his eyes. “Take us to the Skylance,” he commanded, and the realm complied. Within seconds, Marth was plotting coordinates and preparing the Skybridge. “Ready, milady?” he asked, as he took his place on the platform and held his hand over the button that would launch them into Pravpora.

Dalanesca did not say much as she and Marth entered the quarters to which Martin had been moved.  Though she had established a friendly relationship with Martin, she knew that the two of them had much more history and much more in common than she ever would with Martin, especially now.  Allowing he and Marth to converse mostly alone made the most sense, but she remained present in case her input was needed.

Marth posed his question to Martin, which was met with slight confusion as he had expected.  Dalanesca just sat back, until their conversation was finished and he offered her his congratulations.  She stared at him for a moment before giving him a warm smile.  “Thank you, Martin.  And don’t hesitate to call on me for help with anything you may need - as long as you drop the damn ‘lady’ from before my name,” she said with a wink as she ducked out of the room.

She transported with Marth to his tower, where the Skylance was ready for them.  Stepping onto the platform, she nodded at Marth in indication that she was ready to head to Wyllmochvar.