7 Virility Mansion

The mansion's front yard was massive. Collections of flowers took up as much space as Doevm's house. The majority of the yard was grass, with sections of brick forming a path around a circular fountain, with a statue of a rose on top, and lead to a set of twenty marble stairs with intricate designs carved into each step. The red brick walls contrasted with the bight green plants surrounding it. The mansion's front had an overhang at the first story supported by four stone pillars. At the second story were curtained windows. Through it, Doevm saw a large library with thousands of books. It was smaller than his own of course, but Doevm still wanted to read on what events he missed in the period between his death and rebirth. On the third story, was more of the same windows, just with different designs and a boy of Doevm's age. They stared at each other.

"Reason for your visit?" one of the two guards in front of the mansion's gate asked. His partner inched closer to his weapon.

"Reporting for the inspection." Ashtehar said as he pulled a scroll from his robes. On it was a wax picture of the goddess, the insignia of the royal family of the Systerium kingdom. The guards nodded and opened the gate. As they walked inside, a maid at the young age of forty walked out.

"Have you two seen a child at about his age?" She asked, pointing to Doevm.

"No, I have just arrived." Ashtehar said. "What is it with this place and toddlers in trouble? What happened?"

"Nothing, I'll send for someone to help you." She ran back inside. "Lord Virility is going to throw me in the field," she mumbled as she slammed the door. In a few minutes, the door opened again, and a familiar man appeared. He bowed at the waist.

"My name is Jameson, captain of the guards of the Virility family. It is my pleasure to escort-" as he rose up from his bow, he locked eyes with Doevm. "Doevm?"

Ashtehar pushed his way forward into the mansion, "I'll let the child explain while I talk to your lord. Where is he?" Jameson came out of his shock and stepped in front of him.

"Allow me to show you to him." As he lead them through the mansion, Doevm made sure to memorize the layout. The walls had a fresh light red coat of paint. The darkwood flooring matched with the black furniture. Instead of using torches, their way was lit up by light crystals embedded into the domed ceiling. The entryway was full of paintings of the lord and his family. Potted plants surround by faint auras sat on unused cabinets. Jameson lead them through winding hallways and up two sets of stairs until they came across two large wooden doors with two guards posted in front.

"At ease men," Jameson said. "This is the war monk. We'll be talking with lord Virility for quite some time. Make sure no one disturbs us." he turned to Ashtehar. "You should leave Doevm out here."

Ashtehar patted Doevm on the head: "I promised him he would get a place to stay."

Jameson was good at keeping his emotions under control, but Doevm noticed his hand flinch. He smiled, knowing he had the man's pity.

"He can wait outside." Jameson said. "My men will take care of him. After your talk, we'll work something out." Ashtehar nodded and set Doevm down.

"Don't go running off anywhere." he said, and walked through the doors with Jameson close behind. The second the door closed, Doevm heard light footsteps, then a chubby boy his age came into sight. His blond hair and blue eyes combined with the mole on his cheek were familiar, but Doevm couldn't place it. As the boy sprinted closer, a voice boomed out: "Young master! You must not run in the house. You need to study and practice!" the maid ran just behind him, her clothes already getting sweaty.

'Oh, he's the lord's heir. He looks just like the boy from the lord's family painting.' Doevm stepped aside for the boy to get through. The boy, however, grabbed Doevm's hand and pulled him along.

"Run away! She's going to eat us!" he yelled. Doevm tried to free himself, but the grip was as tight as Ashtehar's. The guards didn't stop them. They even pointed and laughed. Doevm had to run or else he would be dragged on the floor. He barely kept pace with the boy as they ran through the house, eventually losing the maid by hiding under a couch.

"Young master, young master!" the maid's voice faded away as she left them behind.

"I'm Thomas." the boy extended a hand.

"Doevm." Doevm shook it. They pulled themselves from under the couch. Doevm sat down and caught his breath. "When did you learn how to manipulate life essence?" he asked.

"Yeah, my dad taught me how. It's the only way I can outrun the maid." Thomas didn't even have a drop of sweat on him, meanwhile Doevm's rags were soaked. "I saw you come in with the war monk. Do you know him?"

"Sort of." Doevm shrugged. "Say, how old are you?"

"I'm nearly two, what about you?"

"I turned two a month ago. How were you able to use life essence?" Doevm couldn't care less about how old this brat was, his eyes were opened. He was never able to collect his own life essence because he was only a kid, but this kid just proved him wrong. All sorts of theories popped into his head. He remembered back to when he first studied magic. He had been so curious and wanted answers to everything. He experimented centuries without talking to anyone. Near the end of his life, he hoped on anything he didn't know and developed an intense curiosity for new knowledge. Arthur had taught Doevm everything he knew about fighting, but there were gaps in his teachings. "I thought you had to fight people to get life essence, so how were you able to get it?"

"Don't know." Thomas said. "He just said to drink medicine and I'd grow naturally. But that stuff's boring. How about we play a game. I've never played with anyone my own age."

Doevm wanted to choke him out, but resisted, as he would be serving the brat for a decade or two. He sighed, "Alright, but let's make it a little more interesting. Each time I win, you'll tell me something about life essence. Each time you win, I'll tell you something about the war monk."

"Deal, but how did you know I was interested in the war monk?"

'It was the first thing you asked about, and you ran after us. Of course I know you're interested in the war monk.' "Magic." Doevm dramatically looked around, then whispered, "Actually, I'm a Lich that's lived over a thousand years and reincarnated into a boy."

Thomas laughed: "You're jokes are horrible. Now let's get onto the first game: arm wrestling." he walked to the coffee table and put an arm up. "What's a matter, scared?"

"No, I'm smart. You'll just use life essence and beat me." Doevm put his arm down. "But I'll still win." they locked hands. "Three, two, one, wait, it's the maid!" as Thomas looked away, Doevm bashed his hand on the table. Thomas rubbed his hand and glared at Doevm. "So do you practice any techniques to gain life essence?"

"Yeah, my dad gives me drawings that I imitate to use my life essence better. Let's go another round. You won't fool me this time." He put his arm up and Doevm did the same. "This time I'll count down. 3, 2, 1, g-" just as he was about to crush his opponent, Doevm opened his mouth and faked like he was about to sneeze. When Thomas covered his face, his hand smacked against the table.

"Do the guards learn from the same slip you do?" Doevm was completely immune to Thomas's glares. He smiled and looked into his opponents eyes as an assassin would when taking someone's life.

"They have different ones that are weaker. Again." They put their arms on the table. "3, 2, 1 g-" Doevm stuck his tongue out just above his fingers so if Thomas won, he would have to get licked. His victory was assured, that was until Thomas took off his shoe and stuck it into Doevm's mouth. As Doevm coughed the shoe out, his hand finally smacked against the table.

"Do the monks all abstain from meat?"

'I underestimated him. I had forgotten that humans are better at trickery than anyone else. I may have experience on him, but I'm a mere apprentice when it comes to mischief.' "The war monks eat meat. They think it is their right as people who are stronger. The regular monks don't though. Taking a life is bad." They put their hands up again. They went through twenty seven rounds before their arms were to sore to continue. They lay on the floor and gasped for breath. Not once did they play fair. Doevm won eighteen times and Thomas won the rest.

From Thomas, Doevm learned almost nothing except for the elixir Thomas drank to get stronger. It was made from rare ingredients, so only the rich could afford it. On top of that, the rose field wasn't just valued for the thorn's capabilities, but the pedals were also an ingredient in the elixir. Thomas asked about simple things, so Doevm didn't have to lie to the kid.

"This is getting a little boring. I know something better we can do." Thomas gasped. Doevm just looked at him, unable to must the effort to ask what it was. "Let's spy on the meeting with the war monk and my dad! He never lets me listen in, saying he'll tell me when I'm older. I know a place where we won't even be caught."

"Really? I guess I am a little curious." Doevm feigned reluctance, but on the inside he was jumping for joy. "Let's do it."