Secret Agent Chapter 069 - Party (Nice) (Patreon)

“Jack, you made it! I was starting to get worried.”

Vlad was sitting perfectly straight on the lounge chair in the living room, dressed in a stuffy looking three piece suit and hair slicked back.

Zack coughed. “Ahem, yeah, sorry. Got held up at the Training Day.”

Vlad frowned. “Oh my, your voice sounds terrible.”

“And whose fault might that be, young master?”

Vlad studiously avoided meeting his family’s maid Nerezza’s gaze.

“Would you like to have some tea and wait a moment? We’re already late—neither hurrying nor tarrying will make much difference now.”

So he said, but Zack could see that Vlad was eager to leave.

“No, I’ll be ready in just a minute. And I took a potion for my throat, it should be recovered by morning.”

Vlad’s expression fell. “I am terribly sor—”

Zack raised a hand to cut him off. “No, seriously, it’s fine. I appreciate the training, Vlad.” It wasn’t the first time Zack had ever lost his voice anyway. It was something of a right of passage in Army boot camp, at least when Zack had gone through.

Lots of yelling and shouting, back then.

Vlad dipped his head an inch. “Very well, then. I shall accept your magnanimity.”

Nerezza narrowed her eyes and continued to gaze sharply at her charge.

As far as things to do, Zack wasn’t planning to change out of his armor.

Not a chance, not now.

He would be ready to flee at a moment’s notice, at least for the rest of this week. That meant armor on, knife and sling and ammunition on his person, and…

Sienna.

She was dozing, and didn’t seem to have noticed his return.

“Sienna,” he said hoarsely.

Groggily, she raised her head, tongue flickering out. Then she seemed to grow concerned and woke fully, looking around the room, tongue constantly flickering rather than the normal sporadic sampling of the air.

Saa?

Zack frowned. “Right here, Sienna.” He raised his hand and she snapped to target the movement.

Saa faint.

Faint?

It took a few seconds for him to realize.

The deodorant.

It would still be in effect from the last time he drank some at dusk.

He opened her terrarium’s lid and she rose over the top edge. He could feel through her bond when she perked up even though her snake body showed no visible sign.

Saa! Almost no scent.

“Yes, I took a potion that makes it so I don’t smell.”

Sienna had mixed feelings about that, the sensation of a frown of displeasure and proud approval both filtering through their bond.

Saa sneaky.

“Sienna,” Zack said, realizing only then that she hadn’t commented on the raspiness of his voice at all. “If something happens to me, find me in the forest outside the city, okay?”

Sienna snapped to protective alertness.

Stay with Saa.

And try as he might, he couldn’t convince her to stay put while he went to the party. She slithered onto his shoulders and though he could feel her sleepiness, she refused to go back into her terrarium.

Protect Saa!

“Jack?”

Vlad’s voice carried through into his room.

To Zack’s surprise, Vlad and even Nerezza had no problem with Sienna joining them in attending the party.

And so Zack pulled out the wooden box from the orphanage and the clearsteel case from the Adventurer’s Guild, both still borrowed and not yet returned, and he carried them with him as Nerezza enforced a sedate pace on their walk to the docks.

Sienna? She sat perched on Zack’s shoulders, alert for predators and inadvertently scaring off anyone who saw her in the evening dimness.

And eventually, they reached the docks without any real incident. Lights were lit within the gymnasium that occupied the ground floor of the Gymbal building where Fyodor lived, and through the windows Zack could see that the entire Rose Theater Troupe was already there, with a buffet table set up among the exercise equipment.

Zack stomach rumbled at the sight of the food. He’d only had the one meal today, despite everything that had happened.

Saa hungry time now, Sienna expressed sagely.

Nerezza held the door open for them, and immediately the Director rushed towards them, uncannily fast on his short legs.

“Ah, Vlad! You look well, yes, you do! Nerezza, good to see you again. I was worried he might not have taken the tonic I sent over, but I see I worried for nothing! Send my regards to the Vampires.”

Zack failed to [Stifle] a double take and he gawked at the Director, mouth agape and eyes wide.

What?!

That was way too on the nose.

Vlad really was a vampire?!

He turned to look at Vlad, who winced.

“And you, Jack, I see you finally brought your [Familiar] out to meet everyone! I would have appreciated a warning! Ah, good, you brought a case, at least your brain is still working.”

He clapped his hands and the sound overwhelmed the conversations throughout the gymnasium, drawing all attention to himself immediately.

Vampires. Sienna. Some new [Skill] the Director hadn’t told him about. Everything that had happened earlier in the day.

Zack was feeling a little overwhelmed.

“Everyone! Vlad and Jack have arrived, hearty and hale!”

Applause, cheers, and whistles filled the air for just a moment before the Director gestured with his hands, pinching his thumb and forefinger together and making a kind of zipping motion as he moved them from the directly in front of himself to the sides.

Silence fell. Sienna, who had tensed at the sudden burst of noise, started to relax.

“Jack brought his [Familiar] with him,” the Director said in a low voice that nevertheless carried throughout the room. “Give them a bit of space and keep the noisiness down; snakes are not fond of loud noises.” As he spoke, Zack saw the Director wordlessly communicate with Nerezza, using facial expressions alone. “And give Vlad some space, as well,” the Director continued aloud.

“That is entirely unnecessary—” Vlad tried to interrupt.

“We appreciate everyone’s consideration,” Nerezza said, bowing and confirming that that was how things would go.

Vlad sighed heavily.

“Vlad, go sit over with Fyodor and relax. Jack, you and your [Familiar] go over there. Don’t go sneaking up on people.”

The Director immediately took charge and before Jack knew it, he was standing a short ways away from where Fyodor, still wearing most of his bandages, and Vlad were seated on chairs. Millie was fussing over Vlad and Fyodor looked relieved that her attentions were no longer on him.

Many people. Friends? Sienna asked.

“Yeah, they’re all friends,” Zack confirmed.

Sienna flicked her tongue in and out, collecting all the scents in the air and looking to and fro.

Roxy was the first to approach, wearing a low-cut dirndl blouse with puffed sleeves and a long skirt, like an Oktoberfest costume.

“Hi Jack! Hi Sienna! Remember me? I’m Roxy!”

Roxy smiled, clearly working her [Allure] skill, but it was ineffective on the juvenile taipan.

Remember. Rat house.

Zack blinked, but didn’t pass that part on. “Yeah, she remembers you.”

Roxy was quite pleased to hear that, and as people saw that Roxy was on good terms with the snake, they started to approach a little closer.

But Zack had so many pressing concerns. He seized this chance.

“Roxy, real quick,” he said, losing a bit of control over his voice and letting the rasp come through.

Roxy frowned but cocked an ear, giving Sienna plenty of space.

Sienna, by the way, approved.

“Vlad’s a vampire?”

Zack felt this was rather important information.

“Huh?” Roxy’s face showed only confusion. “You didn’t know? It’s pretty obvious.”

Zack [Stifled] the urge to facepalm; Sienna was wrapped around his shoulders and he didn’t want to jostle her. “Really?”

Roxy continued looking confused for a moment, but then her face lit up as she reached some conclusion, and gave him a knowing look. “Ah,” she whispered in a low voice. “Right.”

She resumed speaking normally. “Yes, Vlad’s from that family, but he’s a bit… estranged? Uh, that’s not the right word, but some stuff happened and he came here and joined the theater.”

Zack only felt more confused.

“Family?”

Roxy furrowed her eyebrows. “Yeah, House Vampire. They rule an independent territory deep in the mountains. What was it again? Something something -vania I think. Vampivania, maybe?”

Zack’s skin prickled as he felt Nerezza’s attention fall on them, though she remained at Vlad’s side, keeping him seated and attending to his needs.

He sighed, coincidentally at exactly the same time as Vlad himself. “So, Vampire is the family name, and that’s it?”

“Uh, yeah,” Roxy answered, still confused.

Sienna’s head turned abruptly, and Zack saw Ronaldo and Sandra approach. Sandra took the lead, coming up just a fraction of an inch further back than Roxy was standing.

Zack raised a hand in greeting. “Hi. This is Sienna. Sienna, these are my friends Sandra and Ronaldo.”

“Jack, it’s good to see you well,” Sandra said, looking perfectly at ease with Sienna’s presence. Though how much of that was [Acting] Zack couldn’t be sure.

“Yeah,” Ronaldo looked a fair bit more concerned. “Roxy told us you saved an entire orphanage, with a knife.”

Zack winced, though Sandra didn’t visibly react at all.

“I got lucky,” Zack deflected, and this time Sandra frowned at him.

“You certainly did. We warned you a knife was a terrible choice, didn’t we? Unless you’re some kind of prodigy.”

Roxy looked a bit awkward as the greeting started to turn into a scolding.

“No, you were right, it was bad. Really, Sienna did most of the work. She’s a great hunter.”

Sienna preened under the praise, though she expressed herself only with a couple short head bobs.

Sienna good at hunting!

Sandra’s gaze was locked on Sienna’s head, and Ronaldo furrowed his brow.

“Anyway,” Zack preempted any further scolding. “I got some training today, and I’m going to get some more tomorrow.

He told them about the training he had gotten that day, pausing frequently to greet others from the Troupe as they roused the courage to approach Sienna and introduce themselves.

Jim, the stagehand, interrupted him towards the end of his recounting with a question spoken through a mouthful of food.

“Didja see that huge fireball what flew over the city?”

Zack shuddered intentionally. To keep his story straight and simple, he told most of the truth. “Yeah, the woman who made it is apparently the second princess. She, uh, got mad about a book that got stolen.”

Jim swallowed. “Ooh! That’s good gossip!”

Saa. Sleepy.

“Oh, hang on, everyone. Sienna’s getting tired.”

Everyone else took a step back and Zack opened the wooden box, now a bit more cramped for Sienna, and she tucked herself in. He closed that box, then put it in the clearsteel case and latched it shut.

They could both feel the other’s presence through their bond, at least nearby.

“Master Jack, if you’ll allow me?” Nerezza put the case near where Vlad and Fyodor were seated and kept an eye on it, freeing Zack up to wander and mingle.

Millie scolded him fiercely about the fight in the orphanage she had heard from Roxy.

James, the lead stagehand, had some advice about adjusting his armor, tightening and loosening certain straps that did indeed make it easier to wear and move about in.

Emily thanked him profusely for bringing the Bloodrot Tonic to the (other) two hotheads of the Troupe, which made Zack and Fyodor and even Vlad blush deeply, given how sincere she was.

And that led to Millie scolding them all again for worrying everyone.

All in all, it was a great party.

It felt like home.

And, eventually, Zack managed to find a quiet corner with just him and Roxy.

“Hey, Roxy, I’ve got a question.”

She looked up at him, batting her eyelashes. “Yes?”

Zack rolled his eyes. “Knock it off.”

“Boo…” She stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

“Anyway, so I’ve got this idea to make some money…”