Nickel and his siblings entered a side door in the east wing of the manor, leading into the west kitchen.
He didn't know why the west kitchen was in the east wing, but Nickel was fairly certain it had something to do with his great-great-grandfather, who had the east wing added on to the manor when his son returned home with Nickel's great-grandmother.
Who may or may not have been a princess from one of the elven nations on the other side of the planet.
The Silver family had a long and complicated history. Which often resulted in either favors owed, or being hunted for reasons that, though typically unexplained, were usually well-deserved.
Sitting down at the head of the table while Will and Liz greeted Kalvin, Nickel thought of the Aspect he'd awaken.
It would be a guess if he was just about anyone else, but the Silvers were a Destroyer Family. The only potential Aspect Nickel could awaken was the one connected to their bloodline.
At least there were thousands of years of research for him to take advantage of.
Finished saying hello, Will and Elizabeth sat at the table, both to Nickel's left, and Kalvin began to place down lunch. A simple affair, since the party started in less than two hours. The three of them caught up as they ate.
"How did your expedition go?" Nickel asked.
"It went well. I mean, it was an E-rank dungeon," Will responded through chewing, "it's not like there was anything that could really threaten a D-rank party."
Liz muttered under her breath. "Except for the boss…"
"The boss?" Nickel was surprised. "What kind of E-rank boss could cause your party problems?"
The Wolf Pack was a D-rank party, with 9 members, each of them D-rank as well. There shouldn't have been any E-rank threat that could endanger them, boss or not. Especially with Elizabeth present.
"It was an orc warmaster, not that odd to find in the dungeon we were in. That wasn't the problem." Will sighed. "The problem came from the fact that it had a skill that allowed it to muddle First Circle prediction magic, and a second to create illusory attacks."
Elizabeth gritted her teeth, half-suppressed anger on her face. "That damn thing almost killed Marko. Got him across the back with its greataxe." She took a deep breath. "Rean got him healed up in time, but it was close. He's completely fine now, thankfully." Liz still looked angry. Or maybe disappointed.
Elizabeth was the Wolf Pack's main tank, and their seer. Her responsibility was to protect the party, both from monsters, and from unfavorable circumstances. But if the monster could muddle prediction magic, she wouldn't see anything wrong before they entered the boss room.
Will leaned over and wrapped his arm around his wife. "It wasn't your fault, Liz. None of us could have known that the bastard would have a skill like that." He kissed her cheek. "And everyone made it back okay. We'll just have to prepare better in the future."
She nodded, looking slightly brighter. "Right."
"Oh!" Nickel exclaimed. "Did the two of you see the news about Sophiette Drakon?"
"Yes, we did!" Will nodded, grateful for Nickel's attempt to change the subject. "Lady Drakon awakened her Second Aspect, didn't she?"
—
Sophiette was the daughter of Veronica Drakon, the CEO of Drakon industries and the owner and former guildmaster of the Dragon's Brood, the world's fifth-ranked guild. Sophiette was also the eldest Hex, the first to be born with a pathfinder rank of 6. As things were, only 14 Hexes currently existed, all of them under 18 years old.
Her family's status, her potential as a Hex, and the incredible speed at which she advanced all led to every eye being on Sophiette Drakon. A rising star, expected to reach S-rank faster than anyone before her. The only problem anyone can seem to find with Lady Sophiette, was that she seemed to care not a lick about the attention and fame she'd garnered.
She seemed to focus wholly on growing stronger, paying no mind to those who clamored for her attention.
—
"Did the Dragon's Brood release any information about which Aspect she awakened?"
"I'm not sure," Will said, frowning. "We only made a short stop at the adventurers guild before we came here."
Nickel furrowed his brow, and called to his butler. "Kal?"
Kalvin cleared his throat. "I believe it was revealed that Lady Drakon awakened yet another unique Aspect. The Spear-Sword Goddess Aspect of the War Eternal."
Nickel let out a low whistle. "A second unique Aspect, huh? A single one is impressive enough."
A knock came from the door leading into the manor. Upon being granted permission by Kalvin, a young woman entered. This young woman, Leah, was the head of the maids employed by the Silver family. A Wolf-kin Beastfolk, Leah was short statured, standing only five feet tall, with scarlet-red hair, sharp eyes, and elongated canines that were visible when she grinned.
"The maids are finished decorating, Mister Kalvin," Leah reported to Kalvin with a bow. She straightened up, and smiled at Nickel. "Happy birthday, Master Nicholas!"
Nickel returned her smile. "Thank you, Leah."
"Master Nicholas, Master William, Miss Elizabeth," Kalvin walked over to the door, clapping his hands together. "The guests will be arriving soon. Let us move to the main hall to receive them."
With that, Leah stepped to the side, allowing Kalvin to walk through the door, followed by the siblings. Leah brought up the rear, closing the door behind her. They passed through a parlor, down a short hallway, then through a room with a multitude of different items on display, acquired by the family over several centuries, before arriving in the manor's main hall.
It was a long, rectangular room, with several doors along the longer walls, leading into the west and east wing. To their left, at the back of the hall, were two sets of stairs leading to the upper floors of the manor's main building. Currently, there were several tables set along the wall of the hall opposite them.
A set of double doors stood to their right, at the front of the hall, which swung open as they crossed the threshold of the display room.
A pair of maids held the doors open, allowing a third to lead a group of five into the hall. As they entered, they saw Nickel and the others, and began to walk over. Before most of them could take more than a few steps, however, a small, speedy figure rushed at Nickel. Just before they could crash into him, Elizabeth quickly stepped forward and caught the figure with one arm around their waist, lifting them into the air.
"PUT ME DOWN YOU MUSCLEHEAD!" A high-pitched shout echoed from the flailing figure in Elizabeth's arms. A comical sight given their lack of a height difference.
Liz let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Selika, you're in the First Circle." She shook her head. "If I hadn't caught you, Nickel would have gotten hurt."
Liz set the girl down on the ground. Selika was an elven girl, slightly shorter than Nickel, with short midnight blue hair, shining green eyes, and a penchant for both pranks and getting herself into trouble that the rest of the Pack had to bail her out of.
The youngest Hex, Selika was the last born before the system seemingly stopped producing any more.
The Hexes were the highest Ranked, and so awakened at a much earlier age. Selika had awakened at the age of eleven, the second youngest awakening ever.
She was also a closely held secret. A majority of the Hexes had been born to families with great status. Selika appeared to be the only one that was born to a relatively ordinary family.
Her parents, wanting to give her the opportunity to grow safely, sent her to her aunt, Elizabeth's mother, to adventure alongside a trusted party. She joined the Wolf Pack, and despite constantly finding trouble for herself and others, had become an indispensable member of the party.
All of this is to say that, yes, if Selika had managed to hit Nickel, he probably would have been injured.