Tales of the Pearly Kingdom (Pearly Tales Vol. 2)

105. Groves, A Pearly City Experience

"Are you sure that you don't want to come with us, Achilles?" Selene asked. They were still waiting for Cal and Seamus to change clothes.

"Sorry mum, I wish I could, but I've got a bunch of work to do. Peter made me up a list." Achilles sighed while students were doing drills behind her.

"How do you like your new job?" Selene asked.

"You know I was worried about Cal being too heavy handed. But he gave Peter resources and a vision and set us loose. I also wondered what it would be like working for the bartender, but Peter is competent and works the hardest out of all of us. All in all, it's like training initiates back home but I'm more invested since I don't have the other grandmasters breathing down my neck criticizing my every move." Achilles explained.

"Which is your way of saying that you're having a great time." Selene smiled knowingly.

Achilles rolled her eyes. "Pfft, at least I don't have to look at Cal's ugly mug and deal with his stupid pirate antics."

"He's not that bad once you get him to know him." When Selene finished speaking the door to Cal's office opened. She turned, and her breath caught in her throat.

Call always wore puffy long-sleeved shirts and only half the time did he put on a waist coat. She'd seen him without his shirt on and it was a treat, but when she saw the way his shirt and vest pulled against his lithe V-shape. It accented his wide shoulders and somehow teased his muscles just right as the blue tattoo curled up his left forearm. Everything from his styled hair to his leather shoes cut a fine image of sexy masculinity that made Selene salivate and then suddenly blush when he smiled at her.

The squeals and whistles from the café woke her from her stupor. Cal's smile went from pleasant to smug as he never looked away from her and made his way to Selene with an exaggerated confidence in his strut.

The scream was no lower when Seamus also came out dressed just as handsomely as Cal.

"How do we look?" Cal asked throwing his arm around Seamus's neck playfully when he caught up.

Wendy grabbed a hold of Cal's vambrace and Seamus's bracelet. "What are these?" she growled.

"Accessories." Cal smiled at the cold air forming around Wendy. "Ophelia, what do you think?"

"Wow, Papa. You actually look handsome!" Ophelia marveled clutching her hands together and sparkling.

Wendy snickered and let go of his arm. "Well they do look pretty good if I do say so myself." Wendy puffed out her chest.

*

Cal took Selene's hand as they walked down the street. Cal lectured on the Pearly City's design like a tour guide as he showed them around. The roads were wide enough for all manner of carriages, but the life blood of the city were the many different creatures that filed through the streets. Now the Arachne were some of the larger creatures other then some of the herds of Great Elk that were two meters tall depending on how intricate their horns were. The druids were the unsung heroes since they filtered the animals through the city and maintained a constant migration so that the city wouldn't be overpopulated.

In the morning light the larger nocturnal predators would return to the city and find a hidey hole to snooze the day away while the day predators began their exodus. It wasn't that there was no hunting allowed in the protective walls of the Pearly City, it was that predators were at a disadvantage when hunting in the congested city. Between hunting and holding onto a kill there was just too much competition. The Pearly City was designed to be a respite, a way to peacefully whittle away the time.

The Druids maintained this delicate balance with their talent, skill, and strength when the situation called for it. As a group, they had a plethora of ways to address any and every situation.

Selene had been asking plenty of questions about the City and Cal had been answering them as they toured the city. Meanwhile Ophelia was riding on Seamus's shoulders and giggling all the way as she was able to see the city from a new perspective.

"Papa, Papa, look! What's that!" Ophelia pointed at a large structure climbing in one direction of the city. Unlike the marble-crystal mix of building materials like the rest of the city the structure Ophelia was pointing at was a bundling of hexagon shaped buildings scratching the horizon with their jagged half-finished roofs.

"Those are the new homes for refugees. The waspkin have been put to work to help prepare for the refugees who will be showing up soon. They have their own residences built on the other side of the castle." Cal said.

"Are we going to go see them?" Ophelia asked.

"We won't be going that far, our destination is coming up pretty soon." Cal answered.

"Where are we going?" Selene asked.

"Well it has come to my attention that there is a particular fruit that hasn't been seen here for a long time and it is one of my favorites. So we are going to have an all day picnic party with the whole city." Cal responded with a knowingly glint in his eye.

"What are you talking about?" Selene asked.

"I want to show you one of the treasured pastimes of the Pearly City. I'm sure that you saw some of them as you walked through the city. They are called groves. Little pockets of undeveloped areas where people and animals gather in peace to simply spend time together."

"Oh! I saw one of those!" Selene got excited.

"Yep and we are going to host one. You can't have a Pearly City experience without being to one. We- I mean the original North Wind guild used to host them when they gathered before a raid but sometimes they'd have so much fun they wouldn't even go on the raid and it ended up just being an impromptu party." Cal reminisced at the memories. "Back then those people were like my family I figure a good way to break in my new family would be to have our own."

"I see... It sounds like fun!" Selene said.

"Groves are fun, mom. People at groves give out yummy food." Ophelia declared.

"Do they? I've never been to one." Seamus asked.

"Oh Seamus, they have the best food, and everyone is very nice, even to me!" Ophelia declared.

That comment made Cal's heart hurt a little. He comforted his heart by reminding himself that she had a family and a place to belong again.

They stopped at the biggest stretch of green grass and trees that Selene had seen in the city. It had a several bushes and trees along the outside of the perimeter of the grove. It was four times as wide as the guild building and six times as long. It had a pond with a small island in the center where several Nymphs and dryads were sunbathing and socializing by the fruit trees at the center of it. Several people were already scattered about, there was even a musician picking out a tune on a lute.

"Perfect!" Cal declared. He'd been steadily getting more and more excited. "Seamus, you and Ophelia plant these in a circle around that pond. I have a spell to prepare." He tossed Seamus a bag with sixteen large seeds. He then rubbed his hands together sinisterly.

"A spell?" Selene asked but then she was whisked away as Cal practically skipped as he dragged her to the edge of the pond.