Chapter 157: A Dukes Address (1/2)
Mike had barely finished his frantic copying when the carriage came to a halt outside of their destination. With a sigh of relief, he shoved everything back into the extradimensional sack and flexed his cramping hands.
It had taken the entire trip, but he was able to jot down the basics of Scrivening, along with some tips to improving the finished outcome of the process. He was lucky that a large section of the book had been dedicated to bridging the gap between Scrivening and other similar forms of crafting.
Apparently, there was a difference between it and Inscription, the process of temporarily adding magic to objects through mana-infused runes. Both skills were in turn classified as separate from Artifice, which was a blanket term for the creation of magic items using the same kind of runic language. Quite frankly, the distinction seemed arbitrary, but Mike figured that the system must have a reason for it. Although, it probably just like messing with people.
A footman opened the door, and assisted them down onto a literal red carpet, which led up a set of stairs to a palatial mansion. A small army of servants were attending to a long stream of elegantly dressed guests. The entire affair smacked of wealth and opulence.
”Are we in the right place?” Mike asked as the joined the queue. ”I thought this was supposed to be a small gathering.”
”I think this was a foregone conclusion once House Vamith's main family got involved.” Sera replied drily. ”They probably want to use the event as a means of reassuring their vassals of the house's stability. This is all a show, meant to tell the other nobles that everything is as it should be.”
Brenden snorted in disdain, drawing looks of irritation from a pair of passing footmen.
”I suppose it's too late to back out now.” Mike grumbled to himself, while taking the lead.
They eventually passed through the front doors of the mansion and were directed into a ballroom. Here, various noble guests were mingling in small pockets while servants darted between them, delivering refreshments. Three crystal chandeliers hung above the gathering, with light emitting crystals providing the illumination. A group of musicians had set up in one corner, and were currently playing a soft, soothing tune which was often drowned out by the sounds of conversation and laughter from the guests.
Not wanting to block traffic, they moved off to one side, although Brenden made sure to grab a glass of a fizzy alcoholic beverage from one of the servers. Taking a swig, he made an appreciative noise.
”Good?” Mike asked.
”Tastes expensive.” Was the only response he received.
[So, is it good?]
Over the noise of the gathering, Mike heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. He turned to face their owner, only to suffer a heavy blow as a small child slammed into his midsection.
”Mike! You made it! Is Audra here with you?” Elaine asked with clear excitement.
Taking a second to regain his breath, Mike gently lowered the girl back to the floor. ”She is, but maybe the middle of the ballroom isn't the best place to bring her out.”
”Aplained. Mike could see Broderick winding through the crowd towards them, a look of embarrassment on his face.
”Tell you what. Once things calm down, we'll find some time to let you play with her.” He offered with a smile.
”Yay! Let's do it after dinner. There will be plenty of time then.”
”Elaine! You know better than to run off like that. It's rude to our guests.” Broderick scolded while walking up.
”They don't care about me. They're just here for father.” Elaine pouted.
The older brother sighed. ”I know you don't like this kind of thing, but do you think you could try to bear with it? For me?”
”Fine….” Came the reluctant reply.
With a tired smile, Broderick greeted the group. ”I'm glad you made it.”
”Glad to be here.” Mike returned. ”Although, I don't think this quite qualifies as a 'small gathering' anymore.”
The other man sagged slightly, ”I am sorry about that. Once the main house got involved, they completely took over. We're lucky it was on such short notice, otherwise it would have been a much bigger affair.”
”Now there's a thought.” Brenden commented between bites. He'd somehow gotten hold of a tray of tiny sandwiches.
”What are you doing?!” Sera hissed at him. ”You're embarrassing us.”
”If they didn't want us to eat it, they wouldn't be bringing it around.” He replied smugly.
”You're only supposed to take one!”
Mike reassured Broderick. ”It's not a problem, just a little surprising.”
Glancing over at his feuding companions, he continued, ”I apologize in advance if we end up embarrassing you in some manner. So, what's on the agenda? I'm a little unfamiliar with how these things work.”
”First, we have the social hour where the guests are encouraged to mingle here until everyone important has arrived, at which point we will be directed to the dining hall for the meal. I believe the Duke has a speech planned for it. Afterwards, there will be dancing here in the ballroom, a troupe of bards putting on a play in the theater, and the gardens will be opened for strolling and the occasional duel.”
[So, pretty much the same as in my old world, minus that last bit.]