Cora grunted in annoyance as her head bumped the ceiling, the attic room the dwarf was staying in was notably not designed for amazon dimensions, and in truth was probably the first room Dirk had seen in this country that wasn’t. The amazon herself sat cramped against a sloped wall, scowling as the dwarf lit a pipe, puffing it slowly while he looked at the lump of rock and the gold running through it.

“And there’s more?” Argus asked, glancing at Dirk.

“A lot more,” Dirk said with a smile, “ I don’t know the first thing about mining, but from the cursory dig we’ve done I think there’s a lot of potential in that ground.”

“Uff,” the dwarf muttered, “in this country? With all tha’ rain? It won’t be easy… we’ll need pumps, it’ll be beyond my skill alone, but I can find some of my clansmen that can help…” he sighed, “we can rope in some goblins too, don’t let them design anything unless you want it to blow up, but maintaining what you’ve already got? Aye they can do tha’ well enough.”

“That’s getting ahead of things,” Dirk said with a nod, “but I like the sound of it…” he paused a minute, “I feel like I should warn you, there’s a bit of danger attached to this, someone else knows about the gold, and I think they killed my aunt and uncle for it… if we go forward, they might come at us again.”

The dwarf just laughed, “tha’ makes the whole thing even better! ‘tween you me and the biggun’” he jerked a thumb at Cora, “I think we can take anyone who comes fer us.”

He’s more confident than I am, Dirk thought, but he gave the dwarf a smile anyways.

The small attic door opened, and one of the smiths from earlier walked up the stairs, a tray of tea and biscuits in his hand.

“Hey!” Cora barked, grunting in pain as her head hit the ceiling again, “why isn’t this room sized for amazons?”

The smith glared at her, “Miss, our personal quarters are for us, frankly if not for Argus there inviting you in, we would not allow you back here at all.”

“Odd to see a trade without any of the Little Sisters or the Amazons in it,” Dirk commented.

“Blacksmithing is mostly a man’s trade, even in the Queendom,” the smith explained, “it’s one of the only things you can do if you don’t want to spend your life following one of them around.” He nodded at Cora, who frowned, but didn’t respond.

“It’s why I stay with these lads,” Argus explained, “ya humans already build things a wee bit too big for the likes o’ me, but the Amazons and their furniture? Just a nightmare! These boys ‘ere? They always have what I need in a size I can use.”

“I don’t have a smaller bed in my farmhouse,” Dirk mused, “but what if I got a stepstool or something?”

“If there be gold on the land, I’ll make due,” the dwarf nodded.

“I’ll be in touch,” Dirk said, shaking Argus’ hand a final time.

…

“Hope you didn’t clear the dwarf out of all of his gunpowder,” Tom said, tipping his hat with a smug grin as he saw Dirk and Cora leaving the smithy, “I need to refill my own stockpile and it’s so rare that anyone selling it comes through here.”

“What’s a fellow like you need powder for?” Dirk growled, “don’t you have your bully girls to do your dirty work?” As if summoned by his remark Flora and Suzette walked around the corner, standing behind their boss, grinning at Cora and resting hands on their sword pommels.

Tom glanced at Cora behind him, who scowled in return, causing Tom to chuckle, “seems like you’ve picked up at least one of your own Dirk… In any case Lady Griselda’s in town for some reason, I saw her by ale house… let’s just keep peaceful so we don’t end up in ribbons again.”

Dirk looked at Tom a moment, then smiled as he had an idea, “you know Tom? I’m tired of it all, I think I’d like to talk about selling the ranch.”

Tom blinked, “I’m not sure I get the joke,” he said slowly, crossing his arms.

“No Joke,” Dirk said, “I just… wanted to hear your offer again.”

“Fifteen percent over market value,” Tom replied, raising an eyebrow, “Dirk, if you really wish to discuss business there’s a wonderful café just down the street that can seat all of us.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Dirk said mildly, “I just have one little thing I’d want…” he looked Tom in the eyes, “there’s an uncleared patch of land my aunt and uncle owned with the ranch, on the western side… I think I’d like to keep that part, just put a little cabin on it and retire. Other than that, I think I could sell… what do you say?”

“Dirk!” Cora said, annoyed, “you’re not going to sell the ranch, not after all we’ve-“ he held up a hand, silencing her as Tom studied him.

Tom looked back at his two Amazon lackeys, then back at Dirk, incredulous, finally he smiled, “if you’re serious Dirk yes, you can absolutely keep that part of the plot, I’d love to have you as a neighbor once all this… competition, is behind us! I’ll help you clear it myself if you want! Let’s go down to the bank and draw up the papers today if you’re serious!”

He doesn’t know about the gold, Dirk thought, smiling, while there was a hint of suspicion in the other man’s eyes, there was also a genuine eager hope, well, time to crush that!

“I change my mind, sale’s off,” he said with a shrug.

Tom scowled, “well easy come easy go I suppose, was there any point to that or do you just enjoy dangling what I want in front of me?”

“I do enjoy it,” Dirk admitted with a laugh. He walked past Tom, Cora following him, confused. He paused a moment, then fished a coin out of his pocket, handing it to Tom, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Go buy Cassidy some flowers,” Dirk said, “she misses you too.”

Tom looked down at the coin a moment, then smiled, sticking it in the front pocket of his tailored jacket, “You don’t buy a woman flowers here Dirk, typically she… well I’ll find something that sends the same sentiment, thank you.” Dirk nodded and walked by him, and Tom turned to speak once more, “You know Dirk, I’m not a good man, but… I didn’t do it; kill them I mean.”

“I know Tom,” Dirk said with a tip of his hat, causing the other man’s eyebrows to lift in surprise as he walked away.

…

Hardstone had her ever present sneer on her face as Dirk and Cora walked in to her office, and while the amazon guard outside had allowed him to take his pistols in, Cora had been disarmed, and stood scowling against a wall.

“Mister Sommer,” she said coolly, “your next payment isn’t due for another forty five days, unless you’d like to-“

“I’m going to be selling off part of my herd soon,” Dirk said, “maybe a quarter of my aurochs, the loan agreement says you need to be notified for a move like that?”

She blinked, “err… yes, due to our secured interest we would… what necessitates the sudden need for gold? We could always extend your loan-“

“No,” Dirk said, cutting her off, “cash flow is fine, I’m just hiring on some additional hands soon.”

Hardstone’s eyes narrowed, and she withdrew a small paper from her desk, quickly scrawling something across it, “it seems a foolish business decision to cut the size of your herd while bringing on more employees…”

Dirk didn’t respond, just staring at her while she completed the paperwork. She didn’t waver a bit under his gaze, and when she slid the form across to him authorizing the sale, she gave him a steely look that he was used to seeing on soldiers.

“Let me just go add this to our master ledger,” Hardstone said, “wait here, if you would.” The woman shot a glance at Cora, quickly scurrying out of the room.

The pair waited, and Dirk sighed, wishing he’d inquired with Argus about a pocketwatch, dwarves usually sold such things and as the silence grew deafening, he envied the timepiece he’d seen Tom with the first night they’d met.

“How long does it take to scribble down a ledger entry?” Cora muttered finally.

“Let’s find out,” Dirk growled, standing up from the chair and walking towards the door. Just as they reached it the door swung open.

Hardstone was there, her hair a little frayed as she smiled at them sweetly, “Sorry for the wait, there was a ah… important client matter.” She handed the note authorizing the sale to Dirk, then gave an uncharacteristic smile, “My apologies for the whole matter, if you two wish to go to the tavern you can put your first two drinks on my tab.”

Dirk shot Cora a glance, and she grinned and shrugged, “Maybe we will,” Dirk said, “pleasure doing business with you.”

…

“Are we going to go claim our free drinks?” Cora asked as Dirk mounted his horse.

“Maybe later,” he muttered, something about the whole interaction with Hardstone had felt… off… “I’d like to go see Cynthia,” he decided, “since we’re in town anyway.”

“Getting closer to the priestess, are we?” Cora teased.

Dirk frowned and turned in his saddle to look at her, “yes, we are, is that…” he licked his lips, looking up at the massive woman and trying to decide exactly how to parse the situation.

Cora raised an eyebrow, and then slowly smiled, “Cynthy isn’t the worst person to share a man with,” she said, trying to ease Dirk’s tension, “you can have up to two Amazons for wives and one Little Sister, if you wanted,” she said, enjoying the flustered look on Dirk’s face, “any more wives than that and you’ll have to start getting special permissions… but that would probably be easier if one of them was a priestess.”

Dirk’s eyes went wide, “more wives-“ he blinked and cleared his throat a moment. She sounds far too excited about the idea…

His admittedly nebulous plans for the future had always included a wife at some point, that was what a man did when he put down roots, he found a good woman, or so his father had said…

And hasn’t that been hard, he thought, chuckling over his romantic failures over the years, at least it was… he glanced at Cora, here the good women find you… and Cora certainly was a good woman, for him anyway, thick skin, pleasant to converse with, and… how does one propose to an Amazon exactly? He wondered, or do they do it to you here? Cynthia would know… then again, asking her might just be doubling my trouble. He smiled and sighed as he saw the temple of Diana come into view.

…

“Ah Cora, Dirk, welcome,” Cynthia said, standing at the entrance of the domed temple, “Cora, men’s hours extend for another quarter of an hour, if you wouldn’t mind waiting out here…”

“Right,” Cora said, dismounting and leading both of their horses to a hitching post, “just come get me when they’re over.”

Cynthia nodded and led Dirk in through the double doors. Today there were maybe a dozen men, variously praying, reading, and a few even talked in hushed tones. They shot Dirk a glance as he entered, and the whispers intensified for a moment, before subsiding again.

“What are men’s hours?” Dirk asked curiously.

“Times when only men may enter the temple,” Cynthia explained, “aside from the priestess of course. It is customary to hold them on the second to last laboring day of the week.” She brought Dirk to a small table where a jug of wine and some bread waited. While he watched Cynthia cut him some, buttered it, and poured him a small cup, handing it to him.

Not wanting to offend custom, he took them, looking around, “it certainly seems to bring men in…” why does a faith that places women over men like this have hours only for men? He wondered.

As if reading his thoughts Cynthia smiled, “it gives men their own space, to discuss their own affairs, such that they have them… if there is a man who finds himself troubled by an Amazon or a Little Sister in a way that he cannot solve on his own… an overzealous courtship, for example or…” she sighed, “well I won’t darken the day with details, but there are Amazons who do not treat men or Little Sisters appropriately, and it falls to me to hear such pleas for aid.”

Dirk nodded, taking a bite of the bread and saying nothing. He thought back to the smithy, how the men had seemingly found a sanctuary of sorts from the world run by the Amazons outside. As he sipped the wine, a sweet vintage of little potency, he thought on the men he saw here. He followed Cynthia and sat down in a corner of the room where a large amazon sized wooden chair waited, along with three man sized ones, far enough away from the rest of the men praying and speaking that nothing they said could be overheard.

“I try to give the dear males some space,” she explained, “I studied under a priestess in a larger city to the south, does the Empire know of Dry Earth? It’s much larger than Rain’s End… at any rate while I studied magic there, I saw how other priestesses conducted their men’s hours, always walking along and listening in… and I didn’t care for it. I usually just read treatises or scripture over here unless one of them needs to speak with me.” She lifted one of the books to show Dirk, then grinned, “this one here is actually one I wanted to show you, it’s an essay on retaining a man’s vital essence, see if you would just let me put your manhood in chastity for a month, you would see-“

“I think my vitality is as good as it’s going to get,” Dirk said, biting back a laugh. Cynthia was odd, even for an amazon, half the time she’s the most reasonable one I’ve met, the other half she’s insisting my cock needs to be caged for my health… He raised an eyebrow, “and if you got your way, wouldn’t that mean the end of popping in to my dreams to… have fun?”

Cynthia scoffed, “please Dirk, I didn’t say anything about wearing a device to control your tongue or your fingers!”

Dirk rolled his eyes and took another sip of his wine, just ask her, he told himself, “Cynthia, what would a man need to do to get married to a woman in this country?”

Cynthia’s mouth dropped open, then she had a dreamy grin on her face, “you and Cora, right?”

“Anyone,” he said tersely, “what is the procedure, do I buy her a ring, does she buy me a ring? I assume you officiate-“

“Oh of course,” Cynthia giggled, suddenly seeming like a schoolgirl in a candy shop, “well, typically an Amazon or a Little Sister proposes to a man she likes, then gives him some manner of gift, usually something worn to signify the engagement.”

“Suppose I gave her a ring,” Dirk asked, “would that cause any kind of… issue?”

Cynthia thought a moment, “men proposing isn’t entirely unheard of, but it’s usually a sort of uh… statement.”

“Oh what?” he asked with a sigh.

“That the er… woman in question is dragging her feet,” Cynthia explained, “Cora’s always had a reputation of being bad with men…” she giggled, “oh it would be hilarious, she’d never live it down! You should do it, propose to Cora, do it somewhere public!”

A bell rang then, signaling the top of the hour as the men in the temple looked up, realizing their time of reserved temple use had come to an end. They slowly got up, finishing their conversations as they filed out, a few nodded or said parting words to Cynthia, who smiled and nodded in return. Cora walked in past them, walking to the corner where Dirk and Cynthia sat as the last of the men filed out.

“So, how’s it going Cynthy?” Cora asked, nodding.

“It’s Priestess Cynthia!” she snapped, standing up angrily and stamping her feet as Cora chuckled and towered over her.

“Hey, relax,” Cora said, holding her hands up, “Dirk and I just thought we’d come by and say hello! What’d you guys talk about while I was outside?”

Cynthia sniffed, then gave a smug smirk, “Oh don’t worry, you’ll know soon enough!”

Cora raised an eyebrow and looked at Dirk, but he didn’t meet her eyes, “come on, tell me!” she said, irritated.

“No, what a man confesses to a priestess during men’s hours is between him, her, and the goddess,” Cynthia replied. As if she couldn’t resist the urge she stuck her tongue out next, a juvenile gesture that caused Cora to roll her eyes.

“Do you want me to drag you to the arena in town, like when we were kids?” the bigger Amazon asked, crossing her arms.

“Cora-“ Dirk tried to cut in, but Cynthia’s eyes were already glowing blue.

“I’m warning you Cora, things have changed, I have unlocked the secrets of the universe!” Cynthia gestured and the chairs around them glowed blue, beginning to levitate.

Cora snorted, “please Cynthy, you’ve had your magic for like three years, you probably can’t even throw a fireball.”

“Cora, she’s actually pretty impressive,” Dirk warned, “I’ve seen a lot of mages and-“

“Apologize now Cora,” Cynthia said, flourishing her robe dramatically as her eyes glowed that same shimmering cerulean, “or I will bring you to your knees!”

“Go for it, I’ll bet I’m stronger than your tele-whatever,” Cora retorted, cocking her head.

Cynthia raised a single hand and snapped her fingers, Cora’s eyes went wide, and her knees shook as an expression that was very familiar to Dirk came over her face. She grunted and swayed slightly, then panted as she steadied herself.

“W-What the hell!?” she breathed, “try to toss me with your mind like an honest battlemage!”

“No,” Cynthia retorted, snapping her fingers again and causing Cora to mewl in pleasure as she fell to her knees.

“N-Not like this,” Cora begged, “not in front of Dirk!”

“Oh look, the great Cora is at her knees before little Cynthy,” Cynthia teased with a smile, “Dirk what do you think, who’s winning?”

“Uhh…” he was stunned, watching the “battle” and feeling himself grow hard as Cora panted, trying to catch her breath.

“W-Wait C-Cynthia, what about all the times I stopped other girls from picking on you?” Cora whined as Cynthia raised her hand to snap again.

Cynthia stopped, considering it, then giggled, “you did keep a lot of the other girls away, but you also called me itty bitty Cynthy!” she snapped her fingers a final time, sending Cora to the floor, writhing in pleasure as orgasm rocked her body for several minutes.

“I-I’m sorry I was just a girl, we all were!” Cora pleaded, panting with exhaustion as the wave of bliss finally ended. As her senses returned, she scowled and she sat up, looking angrily at Cynthia, “w-why don’t you just use fireballs like normal mages!?”

Cynthia spared a glance at Dirk and smiled, but said nothing, she can probably manage a pretty good fireball if she gets worked up, Dirk thought, and an odd part of him wondered exactly where Cynthia stacked up to the mages he’d fought over the years.

“What, you want to try next?” she grinned, giving Dirk a predatory look.

Dirk’s eyes went wide, and he sprinted, diving behind a column in the temple just as the air tingled again. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and he realized he’d just barely avoided the spell, if quick pain in his shin was any indication, whatever spell Cynthia used for her fun contained a tracking element.

“That damned rune,” Cynthia muttered, confirming his suspicions, “come out Dirk!” she teased.

“These are my last clean underwear!” he called, fighting a laugh as he hid behind the column, I need to buy more, he thought, annoyed, it seemed that he went through them awfully fast in this country…

“I’ll let you take them off, if you come out!” Cynthia giggled. She raised a hand and a massive bar locked the temple doors, assuring their privacy.

Dirk chewed his lip, considering his options, suddenly he heard Cora shout, “quick Dirk, I’ve got her!”

His head darted out, and he saw Cora had gotten behind the priestess, visibly lifting the smaller Amazon up and laughing as Cynthia screamed insults and kicked her feet.

“Put me DOWN!” she ordered, “oh you’re going to get it now Cora, nobody-“

Dirk darted out, running at her, not really sure what his plan was. Her eyes lit blue, and he felt the familiar pins and needles feeling.

Telekinesis, use loud noises or bright lights to disrupt, he thought automatically, and without thinking his arm shot out, pushing the now empty wine jug to the floor, where it clanged loudly. Cynthia blinked in surprise, startled, and the blue glow disappeared from her eyes. Before she could refocus her thoughts, Dirk was in front of her, and he reached up and with a snap of his fingers flipped the tip of her nose.

“Bang,” he said with a smirk, “if this were a real fight, you’d be dead and I’d be reloading my pistol.”

Cynthia scowled as Cora slowly lowered her, “well if this were a real fight, I’d have shot Cora with lightning instead of sending her to heaven,” the priestess retorted. She looked down at Dirk, then up at Cynthia, “although I must admit, you two work really well together…” She put her hand on Dirks shoulder, “I’ll be waiting for news of that thing we talked about,” she gave a wink and Dirk had to fight to keep himself from laughing as Cora’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m going to figure out what’s going on here,” Cora said, “and when I do-“

“I’m sure you’ll be very happy,” Cynthia said smugly. She clapped her hands, “You two came all this way, I’ve some dried meats and fresh vegetables from the temple gardens, let me prepare you two something to eat for coming all this way!”

…

“Seriously, what were you and Cynthia talking about?” Cora asked as the pair rode away from the temple.

The two of them had enjoyed a long late lunch with Cynthia while the two amazons had regaled Dirk with embarrassing stories about one another, and themselves, from their childhood. Finally, Dirk and Cora had decided to leave, wanting to get back to their own ranch before dark.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dirk said, “I’ll tell you later,” when I’ve figured out what size ring you wear… he frowned, Argus, he decided, a wedding ring for an amazon sounds like a job for a dwarf…

“W-Wait!” Hardstone panted, shoving her way past other women her own size and causing an Amazon to grunt as the small banker fought through the street to get to Cora and Dirk.

Dirk frowned, “Miss Hardstone?” he asked.

“Y-You never went to the tavern to get your drinks?” she said, panting a moment and giving them a weak grin.

Dirk glanced at Cora, who shrugged, “I’m sorry but we were at the temple, and the afternoon grows late. We’ve got to be going, perhaps next time?”

“I insist!” Hardstone said, moving in front of them, “forget the ales, let me pay the barkeep to open a bottle of fine wine, an imported one from the Empire, in honor of my good friend Dirk Sommer!”

Cora’s frown deepened, and she looked at Dirk, an almost imperceptible nod passing between them as they silently agreed that this was too suspicious to ignore.

“Any reason you want me to stay in town Hardstone?” Dirk asked, eyes narrowing as Cora dismounted, moving around to the other side of the woman.

Hardstone looked up at Cora, and the nervous look disappeared, replaced by a limber look that most people wouldn’t notice.

“I just wanted to be sure to stay on good terms with my best customers,” she said sweetly, seemingly unbothered by the nine-foot-tall woman behind her or the armed man in front of her.

“Did you do something to our ranch?” Dirk growled, “if Cassidy is hurt you’ll wish-“

“Of course I’ve done nothing to your ranch,” she said, “why, I’ve been here in town all day, the same as you…” She looked like she was about to say something else, but trumpets blared somewhere down the street. She gave them one final look as the crowd on the street began to murmur and look excitedly, and as their eyes locked Dirk felt like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

He tore his eyes away from her and looked down the street, seeing two rows of armored amazons marching along the street, horns blaring while the leaders shouted to make way. In the back, atop a brilliant white draft horse, rode Lady Griselda. She was a common enough sight in town that most people were used to seeing her, but they’d never seen her like this, in a brilliant silver armor polished to the point where the buildings around her were reflected in the exaggerated breasts molded into it. A long red cloak trailed behind her, and atop her head was a small brass circlet with set in rubies to match it.

Everyone on the street was gathering around, silently whispering as the trumpets came to a stop and the guards cleared a space before Dirk, Cora, and Hardstone. The smaller woman gave him one last wink, and chuckled as she stepped away from the pair.

The rattle of armor broke the silence of the crowd as Griselda dismounted, looking around with a smile, her hand resting on the pommel of an ornate sword set with yet more rubies. With a smile she nodded at the assembled crowd, then her gaze landed on Dirk.

“I’m sure you are all wondering why I have appeared in such finery,” she called to the crowd, taking a confident step towards Dirk, her hips swaying slightly, “rest assured you haven’t forgotten my birthday or some holiday…” the crowd chuckled slightly at the joke, but Dirk and Cora didn’t laugh, a mutual tension rising between them. “There is another cause for celebration however…”

The crowd murmured louder, speculating, I don’t like this one bit, Dirk thought miserably as the towering woman took another few steps forward, looming over him in her gleaming armor. Part of him wanted to reach for his pistol, and another part of him realized that this was a far different kind of danger, the kind a man couldn’t shoot his way out of.

“I, your beloved liege lady, have found love!”

There was stunned silence a moment, then clapping and cheers from the crowd. Dirk scanned around, looking for the lucky man, although a part of him already knew somehow what was coming.

Lady Griselda knelt before him, and one of her guards appeared with a wide brimmed hat in his size, with elaborate gold trim, along with a necklace of silver with rubies matching the ones in Griselda’s circlet. Griselda took the offered items from the guard and held them out to Dirk, and a distant part of him bemoaned the fact that it truly was a nice hat…

“Dirk Sommer,” she said, a smile on her face, “would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”