The room beyond that comically large door was less surprising then I thought it was gonna be. I guess I expected, like, a throne room or something? Instead, it was mostly just a larger and fancier version of the room I was in previously. What's the point of all these rooms?

The room was incredibly fancy, with an incredibly large and nice meeting table looking thing being the centerpiece, lots of fancy chairs, with one chair at the far end being particularly ornate. The dukes chair, I presume. There were also several cabinets, stocked with the finest wines and even some chests spread throughout the room. The cabinets were evenly spaced along the wall, but the chests were right next to the door I came in and the door nearest to the dukes chair. In total, this room had 4 doors, the one I came in on the south side, one by the duke's chair on the north side, and more doors to the east and west. The door that I came through was the only comically large one. Weird.

What was even weirder was that despite what the housekeeper lady said earlier, the duke was not awaiting. Instead, there was a note on his chair. Unfortunately for everyone involved, I am effectively illiterate. 

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. It appears the duke has stepped out for a moment. Please, make yourself comfortable, he'll be returning shortly." The housekeeper lady said, seeming a little embarrassed and irritated. 

"Uh, it's fine, n-no worries." I said as I sat down in the seat closest to me, the one closest to the door. 

The housekeeper lady nodded, and stepped outside. Once again, I am alone in an unfamiliar room, waiting for something to happen. 

I wonder where S is? What's he been doing the whole time? I haven't seen him since I woke up, and I'm a little concerned. I hope he hasn't been, like, waiting outside for hours or something. I'd feel a lot more at ease if S was here with me, because then, if things went south, I could just warp us out, and we could come up with a plan, but while I don't know where he is, I'm effectively tethered here. Well, that's probably fine, as I doubt we're in any danger. Yeah, we're probably good.

It wasn't long before the door behind me opened, and I heard a deepish, very noble voice behind me.

"Terribly sorry," The duke began as I turned to look at him. He looked to be a relatively young man, around in his late 20s. He had short, golden blond hair and dark green eyes. He was also relatively slender, though, not scrawny or anything, just y'know, slim. And he wore some incredibly fancy reddish and white robe, which complemented his hair and eyes nicely. He's got a good color scheme goin on overall, though I feel it could use some blue, somewhere. And maybe some gold on the robe? Ooh, a golden necklace with a sapphire in it. That'd complete the look. "Amelia demanded I play with her, and I just cant refuse my darling daughter. Anyways, greetings, and welcome to my home, brave hero!" 

'Brave hero', huh? That's a bit of an exaggeration. At least that means we're on good terms. "Uh, t-thanks."

"Nay, I ought to be thanking you! You saved my Amelia!" He said. 

"W-well, it wasn't just me, most of it was my f-friend, S." And 'saved' is a bit of a strong term, isn't it? "O-oh, and speaking of, do you know where he is?" 

"Ah, yes, your friend, S. A good lad, he is. Even after we had our healers take care of your wounds, he demanded that he stayed by your side until he was sure you were okay. He ended up staying in that room with you for several hours. He was sitting opposite you, and stared at you the whole time. Not really sure what he was doing, but he was doing it very intensely." My face went a little hot as he said this. "Once he was sure, he and I simply chatted over tea about this and that. We were in this room, actually, but just before Amelia came in, I told him he could help himself to the refreshments in the kitchen. I imagine he'll be right wit-"

He's interrupted by the door on the west side opening, and S coming out with a decently sized plate of assorted meats. "Thanks again, Goldy!" He began. Then he looked over at me. "Beyes! 'Morning, sleepyhead!" He shouted before sitting down next to me.

Really, he's doing that routine, too?  "Yo." I said in response.

"Ah yes, think nothing of it, S. Now then, since you're both here, I shall get straight to the point. You have done a great service, and I shall not let you leave unrewarded!" The duke said, commandingly. 

"O-oh, that's not necessary, all we did was-" I began.

"Nay! I demand it! You saved my Amelia from danger, my pride will not let you leave empty handed!" He said in defiance.

Ah, I see. Well, no use looking a gift horse in the mouth, I guess.

"Actually, I'm curious, why was your daughter alone in Starsford, anyways, when you live way out here?" S asked. Oh, is that what that town's called? Noted.

"Ah, yes. It was an unfortunate oversight on my part, one I shall never forgive myself for. You see, I had some..." He paused for a moment, thinking intently. "Well, I can't go into great detail, but it was some off the records business in Starsford. Amelia somehow found out and demanded that she come along, and I just couldn't say no. I didn't want anyone to know we were in town, so I set Amelia and I up at an out of the way inn near the edge of town, and we had to dawn disguises, naturally. I guess Amelia was feeling a little adventurous, so she slipped out of the inn, and, well, that's about where you come in." 

"But why did that thug try to mug her, in particular? She was disguised, right? I don't think most muggers would target children." S questioned further.

"Well, it could be any number of reasons, but I suspect they somehow found out about... well, I really shouldn't-"

"The rod she was screamin' about?"

The duke sighed. "Yes. It's an ancient Goldynrun family heirloom, a blessed charm said to protect its wielder. That's all I can say." 

"Right. Sorry." S apologized, before taking a hefty bite of meat. 

"Nay, it's only natural you'd be curious." The duke reassured S. Man, he's a real understanding guy. "Anyways, let's get back on track. Your reward! I've prepared a few things, please, take your pick. Over here." He led us over to the chest next to the door on the north side, and opened it. Inside were a few odd rings and necklaces, a sling, a white cloak, a monocle, and some sort of small hammer. All seemed to shimmer oddly and had this certain air about them.

"Woah! Where'd you get these, Goldy?" S asked, clearly surprised and impressed.

"Odd artifacts from magical crafters or adventurers are sometimes given to us as gifts. I don't have use for most of them, so I give most weaponry and such to the guard, and I keep around everything else as gifts." The duke responded. Ah, so this is re-gifting. Still, if S is excited about them, they must be pretty cool. "You can take what you want, but if nothing strikes your fancy, I could always give you a sum of gold instead!"

Well, to be honest, I'm not sure how happy I'd be to receive what I presume is tax payer money as a gift for doing a relatively minor good deed, but that does give me an idea...

"How much gold?" I ask.

"Well, a lot of it would be in gems, but, well, let's see..." the fact that he had to think about it means that it's probably enough.

"I'll take the gold. And I'd like to spend it immediately." I conclude. 

... "Also, that'd look really good on you." I said, pointing to a golden necklace with a sapphire in it.