Catching his breath, Aeldevan jogged his way over to Skamos and embraced him. Their attention was abruptly turned toward the city wall, where a loud tearing sound reverberated off the stone. Magra had one foot on the felled treant and was pulling off a large piece of bark. Holding it up in her hands to give it a onceover, she nodded before placing it to the side. Rummaging in her bag, she took out a small vial and gathered some of the uncovered sap from the main tree.
Halfway between them, the dwarf was busy pickpocketing the slain orcs. While one hand gently swirled a potion bottle, the other was putting coins into her purse. Feyre looked at her hungrily, not being able to get to the bodies before this newcomer. Her focused shifted to the bits of the dark elf strewn on the field, her eyes finally landing on a bag that hadn't been completely destroyed. Skamos was already walking toward it, though, with Aeldevan almost running. She wouldn't let more loot go to someone else, though. Feyre sprinted toward the half-elf and nimbly tripped him, causing him to land face first into a small pool of blood. She turned to grab the bag, but a strange feeling stopped her. Looking back at her friend, she actually felt a little bad.
"Sorry about that, Aeldevan. I just wanted to get to the bag before you. I guess you deserve whatever's in it though, since you were the one to finish that psycho off." The gnome, although half his size, helped Aeldevan up and brushed off some dirt caked on his knees. "Now go before I change my mind!"
Wiping the bloody dirt off his face, Aeldevan nodded at Feyre before retrieving the bag. He found inside a small bottle labeled Potion of Friendship with Animals, when Skamos finally caught up to him.
"Here, you can have this one. You took most of the beatings, and I've got similar spells anyway." He passed the bottle to his partner, who accepted it with a smile.
◊◊◊
Turning to the dwarf, Aeldevan put out a hand to her. "Thanks for helping us out. I'm Aeldevan."
"The name's Ruvira, but you can call me Ru. Y'all handled yourselves out there pretty well. Do you do this sort of thing often?" Ru stood up. Standing still, it was clear that her height was a little tall for an average dwarf. Her skin was fair, and her green eyes stuck out against the brownish-red of her hair. Although pulled back into several braids, there were some strays that stuck out. Perhaps Ru's most interesting feature was a braid streaked white from a birthmark.
"We sure do! My name's Feyre Fapplebottom. Nice to meet ya." The gnome gave Ru's hand a good shake.
Magra's lively green face suddenly turned pale. Not only was her best friend showing an interest in another warrior, but they were closer in height than she was. "Ru... -re," she silently said to herself, realizing Ru's name sounded good with the end of Feyre's name. She shook herself out of her spiraling thoughts, puffed out her chest, and pointed at the two. "Ru! Ra!" Pointing a big thumb at herself, "Gra!" She snorted, fists on her hips, and stood with a serious look on her face.
Everyone else looked at her with raised eyebrows. Quick-witted Skamos broke the tension by shouting, "Mos!" He elbowed Aeldevan gently in the ribs.
The druid chuckled when he figured it out, and shouted, "An!"
They all had a little laugh before Magra abruptly turned and started marching towards the city gate, snatching Feyre up and putting her on her broad shoulders. Along the way, they all started chanting, "Ru! Ra! Gra! Mos! An!"
As they approached the gate, Ru interrupted the cacophony, "Hey, do any of you happen to know who Luna Stardust is and where I can find her?"
Still wary to their new comrade, Magra lightly rubbed her bracelets. Before she could respond, Aeldevan, always wanting to help, beat her to it.
"Yes, actually. We've done a fair amount of business with her. She even made Magra some nice bracelets." The half-elf said it in a way that implied Magra should show Ru the beautiful accessories.
At the front with her back to the rest of the group, Magra held up both arms and rotated them as if waving to someone. After only a moment, she placed her hands onto Feyre's ankles for support.
"Those are gorgeous!" Ru was too amazed to notice Magra's bitterness. "I've made some nice things while smithing and tinkering, but nothing like those." After a brief pause, she continued, "If it's not too much trouble, do you think you could show me the way?"
Towering over everyone else, Feyre cheerfully answered, "Of course!"
"Absolutely," Aeldevan agreed. "However, we should check back in at Haven House to see if anyone else is there and if there's still a fight at the other side of the city."
As they crossed back into Everlit and passed a couple buildings, Magra whistled for Nick, who came running from the direction of the stables. Arriving at the magical house, Skamos shouted towards the door, "Aelderheart! Do you know where Olorin or Ilyana went?"
"I'm afraid I do not," the door responded. "But I'm glad to see you're all alright!"
"Same!" replied Skamos. Turning to his friends, "Well, since no one is here and it sounds like the fighting stopped, let's go see Luna." Unanimous, they headed toward the Astral Oddities Bazaar.
Feyre had since climbed down from Magra's shoulders to lead the way. Trying to lighten up her own mood towards Ru, Magra whispered to the dwarf, "Careful of your pockets. That one there's slippery but has sticky fingers." She jerked a thumb towards Feyre, oblivious she was being warned about.
Ru looked a little startled but quickly smiled in thanks. After Magra had turned to face forward again, Ru slipped her hand into her pocket to make sure her necklace was still there, one of the only things she had to go on to find her family.
◊◊◊
After Aeldevan introduced her to Luna, Ru gently took the necklace out of her pocket and placed it on the counter along with her bracelet that bore the same symbol.
"Very interesting," Luna stated, using a magnifying glass on the pair. "These are made out of cold iron, tougher than your normal iron. I'm sure you knew that though," Luna eyed the dwarf's sooty fingers and clothes, obvious signs of smithing. "Hm," she thought aloud, seeing that Ru's profession happened to align with the symbol on the items: a blacksmith's hammer striking a glowing anvil with a ring of sparks around it. "This isn't just a symbol. This is the crest of a prominent dwarven family from Hammer's Fall." From the looks on Haven's Blade's faces, she could tell they didn't know where that was. Sighing, she explained, "It's the next major city north of here. It does a lot of trade with Everlit, so I've seen this before."
"Wait, did you say dwarven? Why would I have these then?" Ru asked Luna, hoping she could make sense of this.
"Well, they are mountain dwarves, and so are you, right?" Luna asked the question, but she already knew the answer.
"That can't be right." Ru looked down at her hands and the rest of her body. "I mean, I would know, wouldn't I?"
Luna started to look annoyed that she was playing therapist instead of making money, but she felt a little bad for the girl. "Honestly, mountain dwarves can easily be mistaken for humans if you haven't seen them much. And since you didn't recognize this symbol, I'm assuming you didn't grow up with other dwarves."
While Ru took this new information in, staring at the counter and slowly nodding, Aeldevan interjected. "Luna, about how far is this Hammer's Fall?"
Looking even more impatient but knowing they just want to help, she wrote down a rough sketch as she spoke, "Keep heading north out of the city and you'll eventually reach Hammer's Fall." She figured she'd give a little more while she was at it. "Just so you know, if you continue through the city, you'll come to a rest stop by Lake Ironmere. Keep going, and you'll end up at Saltstone Harbor." Skamos's eyes widened in excitement. "But don't go too far or you'll end up in the wasteland or in the orc's stronghold." She looked up, everyone's expression impressed. "What? I do a lot of business with objects and people from all over. It helps to know where places are."
Not wanting to take up any more of her time, Ru tipped Luna a gold coin for the information. "Thank you for all your help."
"And thanks for the bracelets!" Magra beamed at Luna, wrists wriggling in the air. The shopkeeper smiled back with a silent laugh.
Immediately after exiting the Astral Oddities Bazaar, Skamos leaped in the air, pumping his fists. "I can't wait to get to Saltstone Harbor! That's where my dad is!" He clenched his fists in excitement.
Aeldevan smiled and placed a hand on the Tiefling's shoulder, "I can't wait to meet him."
Along with everyone else, Ru was happy for Skamos, but something looked like it was bothering her. Feyre noticed first and asked if she was alright.
"I was wondering," Ru said slowly, "if it would be okay if I traveled with you up that way, since I'll be going that direction, too." The group gave her puzzled looks, which she immediately flushed red about in embarrassment for having asked.
Before she could say anything else, Skamos spoke up. "What are you talking about? We're all going together!"
"Yeah, we said we'd help you, even if it was just to bring you to Luna's." Feyre added, making Ru tear up a little. "I'm sure we'll find another reason to go to Hammer's Fall anyway."
Blunt as ever, Magra asked, "So how did you not know you were a dwarf? And what were those symbols all about?"
The other three turned to scold her, but Ru interjected. "No, it's fine. If we're traveling together, you should probably know a little bit more about me." Ru explained how she was orphaned at a young age, being the only known survivor of her village. She had always felt different but figured it was because she was adopted; now she knew it was because she wasn't even human. Her adoptive father, a retired soldier turned smith, raised her and taught her everything he knew. He had seen the necklace at a shop and noticed the marking matched the bracelet she was wearing when he found her. He hadn't gotten much information other than to visit a Luna Stardust in Everlit who might have been able to provide more answers. Unfortunately, he had passed away from an illness before he could find out. Luckily, her father belonged to a guild who offered her his seat and helped with all the arrangements. But nothing was tying her to her house anymore, although it remained in her name. So, she set out to discover more about her past and had only just got into town this morning. She was on her way to find Luna when the battle started.
"That makes sense," Magra concluded.
◊◊◊
Being as they were already out that way, Haven's Blade decided to check on Olorin since they hadn't seen him since the battle started. Aeldevan sprinted to the door once it came into view before Magra could cause any damage. The door was locked shut, so he gave a couple knocks, but there was no answer. As they turned to walk away, they saw Olorin walking slowly up the path from the east gate.
"Hey, Olorin!" Feyre shouted, waving her hands in the air.
The old wizard looked up from the ground, his tired face immediately turning into a smile. As he finally reached them and caught his breath, Feyre asked what had happened.
"Well, as you all were sent to the Gloaming Portal, I headed off to the Solaris Portal to see how I could help. We were successful in fending off the attackers, but just barely. I saw your archer friend and her wolf, but I'm not sure what happened to them after. She might be back at the house by now. Speaking of which, Aelderheart chose you to take possession of the home, so I hope you accept his offer." Olorin moved to pass the group, muttering what sounded like, "Blub-blub," as he waved at the door, which immediately unlocked and slowly opened.
"Not to bother you, but we had some other things we actually wanted to talk to you about," Aeldevan politely requested. The wizard continued inside without turning around and waved for them to join him.
"Nick, you stay here and bark if anyone comes this way." Magra scratched behind the dog's ears and gave him a piece of jerky, which he immediately gobbled up. Olorin noticed and waved his hand, summoning a bowl of water next to Nick.
Once everyone was inside, there was an awkward silence. Even though they were inside a wizard's home, Aeldevan was still weary of peeping ears. He started by saying they came into possession of a unique item in the catacombs and vaguely described the horn Magra was carrying.
"Hey, isn't that the Horn of Gruumsh?" Magra announced as she started pulling it out of her bag.
Aeldevan quickly held up a closed hand to hush her, eyes narrow and threatening. The barbarian slowly moved the horn back into the bag, her face grimacing at her blunder.
Slowly turning to Olorin, Aeldevan continued, "Say we were to have that," he pointed a look at Magra, "what would you say we should do with it?"
His eyes wide, Olorin spoke slowly and quietly, "First of all, I don't suggest you tell anyone else you have it." He pointed a finger at the bag, indicating it shouldn't come out. "You could bring it to the house and never take it back out, but that might not be any better than where it was before. You could also travel back to the vault where you left the other artifact, but that trek could be risky."
"What if we just smash the thing to pieces?" Magra suggested.
"Even if we could break it, I'd be worried that any strike against it would make the horn blow," Aeldevan countered.
Ru offered another option. "From the small part I saw when Magra was taking it out, the horn looked to be made of wood bound with metal. If that's the case, maybe we could try melting and burning it."
Everyone turned to her with intrigue. Olorin spoke first, "That may actually be an option. The worst thing I can see happening, if it is done carefully, is that it doesn't work. Even so, a horn at the center of a melted block of metal that cooled down would look like just a block, with most magics unable to penetrate depending on its thickness." He stroked his beard as he looked at the ceiling in thought, forgetting that he never even met the dwarf before.
"Great idea, Ru. We can think on that more before we leave town." Aeldevan smiled at his new friend who was proving to be quite helpful. Imitating a cough to gain Olorin's attention again, "While we're on the subject, we've retrieved two of the three artifacts. Do you have any idea where the third one could be?"
"I'm afraid not." Olorin looked towards the ground before perking back up. "However, I do know what it is. It's called the Blood Spear of Gruumsh." He noticed Magra's eyes light up, but didn't bring any attention to it.
"Well at least that's something to go on," said Feyre, knowing they were that much closer to stopping Gruumsh and getting enough money to rebuild her home.
"Skamos," Aeldevan announced, "Wasn't there something about vampires we were going to ask about?" He leaned forward, insisting that his friend tell the wizard about his weird vision from the night before.
Skamos proceeded to monologue about the wild night he had, describing in detail how he took a body shot of brain fluid out of Magra's navel at which Olorin looked like he was going to get sick. "And there was something about a vampire called the Red Countess in the northern wastes. Since we killed her pet, that mind flayer, and a couple vampires, you don't think she'll come after us, do you?"
Recovering, from his nausea, Olorin's response didn't offer much. "Unfortunately, I have no idea. I've heard rumors of vampires up north, but I can't say I know of any specific names. You might want to be careful if you're heading up that way, though, since it seems you lot get into trouble easily." He turned to go sit down on a nearby rocking chair, so he didn't notice the looks everyone else gave each other, since that's exactly the direction they'd be heading.
Looking toward where Olorin sat, Ru's gaze caught a metal boar horn on the wall. Stepping closer, she could make out the design carved in it: the family crest that matched her bracelet and necklace. "Excuse me, but would you happen to know anything about that horn?"
Olorin turned to look up at it. "Oh, I picked that up some time ago from a trader up north." He repositioned himself to face back to the group. "It's from an iron boar, usually found in the northwestern hills. If you ever find yourselves in Hammer's Fall, stop by the Obsidian Lounge. You should be able to find a gnome by the name of Jorvick Hearthglow who could probably tell you more."
After thanking Olorin for all his help, Haven's Blade started making their way out the door. Before he stepped outside, Aeldevan started getting an idea. "Hey, Olorin. Do you think that item could be tracked to other planes, like the Fey Wild?"
Olorin looked at him curiously. "I would imagine so, but each plane has its own hazards. It could prove more difficult to obtain depending on where it is."
Aeldevan's thoughts were piecing together another option, but they'd have to act tonight. He thanked the wizard and jogged after his friends.
"We'll be back tomorrow for those elemetnal stones!" Feyre shouted from down the path.
Olorin shook his head, an exhausted smile on his face. As he closed the door, he muttered to himself, "I better get cooking then."
◊◊◊
"I'm starting to get worried about Ilyana," Aeldevan admitted once they got back into town. Before anyone else could say anything, he cast a spell to locate his friend. "Got her. She's alive, but she's not moving." The druid quickened his pace and headed towards the east gate, not looking back to see if his friends were following. As he got closer, he saw makeshift tents with healers flitting between them. The spell pointed him to a specific tent, and this time he checked to see if everyone had followed.
"We'll wait here. Looks a little crowded." Magra stood with the rest of the group just outside the medical area.
Aeldevan ducked into the tent that the spell pulled him towards, immediately seeing a healer pulling an arrow out of Ilyana's thigh. She gritted her teeth in pain, but not a peep came from her mouth. Her eyes were shut tight, but she noticed Aeldevan once she opened them.
"Long time no see," the ranger smiled at her friend as he moved closer. "Before you ask if I'm okay, yes I am. Although not as okay as I was this morning." Her spirit was light for having a hole in her leg. Wolfgang sat in the corner, watching the healer's every move.
The man, Doc Cottle, finally spoke, giving Aeldevan a summary of how the battle went on this side. "She's lucky this arrow wasn't poisoned," he said gruffly, almost as if it would have been an annoyance if it had been.
Aeldevan nodded, awkwardly standing around. "Well, you can rest easy at Haven House later."
Ilyana chuckled. "Clever name. I wonder who came up with that," she teased.
The half-elf turned to the healer, "Do you want any help? I could take over here if you have others to tend to."
Doc looked offended and grumpy. "What? You don't think I know what I'm doin'?" Without waiting for a response, he went back to work.
Aeldevan exchanged an amused look with Ilyana. "We're going to go run some errands. Are you okay to meet at the house later, or do you need help?"
"I think I'll be able to manage, but thanks," she replied.
"Alright, see you later then. Thanks, Doc." Aeldevan heard him grunt a goodbye as he ducked back out to rejoin his comrades to tell them the news.
◊◊◊
Whipping the door to the alchemist's shop open but catching it just before it slammed the wall, Magra made her entrance. "Elara! Got my stuff?"
The silver-haired elf looked up, startled but appreciative to have her door still on its hinges. After a pause, she bent down behind the counter. When she stood up, she had in hand the bottle of cloudy gray oil.
Gently taking the bottle, Magra made an uneasy face. "This doesn't taste very good, does it?"
"You're supposed to rub it on your skin, Magra," Aeldevan answered.
Looking square into his eyes, Magra replied, "I taste everything." Leaning an elbow on the counter, she whispered to Elara just loud enough for everyone else to hear, "It's essential in spellcasting to taste your liquids. Any good spellcaster knows that." She made a pointed look at Aledevan, who just shook his head, unamused. Elara made a face and shrugged as if she thought Magra had a good point.
Turning back to the alchemist, Magra asked, "Any freebies?"
"Freebies?" Elara questioned.
"Yeah, you know, to sweeten the deal." The barbarian was not one for subtlety when she wanted something.
The alchemist thought for a moment before rummaging in a side drawer. She pulled out a small bottle of elvish sanitizer, fit with a small hole to carry on a string. "Here, this is used to sanitize your hands, not to drink."
In one swift motion, Magra took the sanitizer and began to leave. "K thanks. Bye!" She was halfway through the door when she put a few drops of the sanitizer on her tongue.
After saying goodbye to Elara in a nicer way, the rest of Haven's Blade shuffled out after their half-orc friend, leaving the shopkeeper shaking her head.
Over at the Iron Anvil Forge, Rurik was busy working some steel. Once he looked up and saw them coming his way, he set down his current project. "What can I do for ya?" he hollered.
"We've got quite a list," Aeldevan started, "but before all that, were you able to finish my armor?" The half-elf was excited for the new equipment. Rurik smiled as he went to retrieve it. Aeldevan's eyes lit up as it came into view. The scale mail retained its iridescent sheen from the hydra it was crafted from and shimmered in the winter sun. He took it graciously and immediately stripped down to put it on despite the cold.
Chuckling at her friend's show, Magra stepped up to Rurik's bench. "How long would it take you to craft me a pair of brass knuckles?"
"Actually, I have a pair already." The dwarf went to a box he had on the ground, filled with miscellaneous metal parts. He handed her the pieces, "Try them on first."
"These fit perfectly! I was hoping for some letters though, so that anyone I hit with these gets marked." Magra whispered something in the smith's ear which made him laugh.
"Ah, I'll need to go into my special collection for those. One minute." When Rurik reappeared from further back in his work tent, he had a nicer pair of brass knuckles with debossed Dwarvish letters. Handing them over, he mentioned the different language would be more amusing for those who knew that they read "FUCK OFF". "These are one of my favorites, so it'll cost a little more."
"Deal!" Magra tossed him his payment before moving away and jabbing the air, her new weapons suiting her.
"My turn!" Feyre jumped up to the table. "I've got these tusks that Luna said you'd pay a pretty copper for."
"Did she now?" Rurik turned the tusks in his hands, mumbling, "She sure does know me..." Unable to refuse these, he looked at Feyre and made his offer. "I'll take them for one hundred gold each." He begrudgingly started grabbing his money to hand over.
Feyre's eyes reflected the gold coins her mouth was watering over. "Works for me," she hauled the other tusk over to the side of the table. While stuffing her pockets with gold, she brought up the helmed horror's helm.
"I'd only be able to offer you twenty gold, since it's not something I'd make," Rurik explained. Feyre saw Aeldevan's lip quiver in fear that she would sell it. "But I'm sure you could find another smith who specializes in this kind of thing."
"Look, Aeldevan," Feyre said after a few seconds of thinking it over. "If you want it, you can have it for ten gold." She was immediately assaulted by ten pieces, and the druid quickly put the helm in his bag of holding for later.
Skamos was next in line, holding up the eye of the beholder. "I heard a shield could be made with this."
Rurik shook his head, "I'm afraid that's another one I'm not able to make for you. But I bet the same person who can make something of that helm will be able to work a shield from that eye."
Skamos stuffed it back in a pouch and retrieved the two vampire fangs he harvested. "What about these?"
"Now those I can work with, although it'll take me a week and cost you a hundred gold." Rurik delicately took the large fangs before taking the coins. When he stood back up from his money box, he was startled to see Skamos had a whip in hand.
"Can this be silvered?" the tiefling asked.
"Yes, it can. I'll tell you what, though," Rurik nodded towards Ru. "That dwarven friend of yours looks like she knows a thing or two about smithing. She can silver whatever she wants with my equipment for five gold per item."
Ru was caught off guard that Rurik could also tell she was a dwarf when she had only just found out hours earlier, so she stammered when responding, "Y-y-yeah, sure. I could do that." She took the whip and some gold from Skamos. As she was about to give Rurik ten for the whip and her bow, Magra added some more so that her brass knuckles could get silvered, too.
"Please and thank you!" Magra was quickly warming up to their new friend.
◊◊◊
Since Ru would be busy the rest of the day, Magra had Nick stay with her for company in case Rurik needed to leave. As the rest of them walked down the small hill, Skamos asked their opinion on something he had been thinking about.
"You know how my mom lives by herself and that it's got to be hard doing all that upkeep alone..." His friends waited patiently for him to continue. "Well, I was wondering if you all would be okay if I asked her to stay at Haven House. That way she doesn't have to do as much alone, especially if Ilyana is staying there. She'll also have Aelderheart for company, and she can keep the place feeling like a home for when we visit, and-"
"Skamos!" Magra, Feyre, and Aeldevan all stopped him in unison.
Aeldevan looked at the other two before continuing, putting his hands on his partner's shoulders. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, and it's a kind thing to offer. We would love for her to stay there."
Before they got to Janice's house, Feyre told the others she wanted to go hang out with the birds and squirrels around town before heading to the stables to visit Haven's Blade's herd. As Magra, Skamos, and Aeldevan rounded the corner, they could smell a warm, sweet scent wafting on the breeze.
After Skamos skipped up the front steps, he knocked on the door and entered before anyone could respond. "Mom!" he hollered as he stepped through the threshold. "It's me and some of my friends."
"In here sweetie!" Janice's voice came from the kitchen where fragrances of baked goods emanated.
"That smells amazing, Ms. C!" Magra inhaled as much of the scent as she could, a little bit of drool escaping from where her tusk protruded.
"Oh, thank you," Janice smiled as she wiped her cookie-doughed hands off on a towel before coming over and giving Skamos a hug and surprising Aeldevan and Magra with one, too. "I was hoping I'd see you today or tomorrow so I could give you some homemade desserts. They'll be ready later, but I just set the apple berry pie to cool." She glanced over her shoulder, making sure the pie hadn't been knocked off the ledge by an animal.
"We really appreciate that, Ms. Cunningham." Aeldevan hadn't had a home baked dessert in a long time. Sometimes taverns had fresh pastries, but there was something about this that made him think of when he used to bake with his mother. He quickly wiped away a watering eye before anyone could notice.
"Oh, stop," Janice swatted the air playfully. "Call me Janice. Except you, Skamos. You still have to call me Mom." She grinned as she pointed at her son. "Now, what brings you over?"
Skamos reached into his pocket and pulled out the petrified potato. "I forgot to show you this potato I found in the catacombs! It looks just like you." Skamos beamed as he said this, excited to have found something so random that reminded him of his mother.
"Oh, honey, how sweet," Janice looked like she didn't know if she should be offended and didn't know what else to say.
"You'll have to excuse him," Magra interjected from behind Skamos, putting two big hands on his shoulders. "We were at the smithery, and it seems he's inhaled a bit too much iron powder."
After everyone had a good laugh, Skamos cleared his throat. "Mom, we recently came into owning a magic house, and I was wondering if you'd like to stay there."
Janice's face showed a lot of surprise, not fully understanding. She opened her mouth to clarify, but Skamos continued. "I talked to the others about it, and since we'll be traveling some more, it would be great if you lived there. That way, Aelderheart won't be lonely, and you won't have to do as much housekeeping. And you would live there for free."
"But not cookie free!" Magra teased.
Skamos's rambling only produced more questions for Janice. She stammered, "I- I don't know what to say. That's such a generous offer. But why would he be lonely?" She looked at Aeldevan.
Before anyone else could speak, the half-elf jumped in, an amused smile on his face. "Aelderheart. He's a magic door. Easy to get it mixed up with Aeldevan after only meeting once." He waved away the apology Janice was about to make. "Why don't we all head over to the house so you can at least see where it is. We'll introduce you when we get there and have a look around; we haven't exactly had time to see it ourselves, either. It's been quite a busy day."
They decided to sit and talk while they waited for the cookies to finish baking, telling Janice all about Aelderheart, the battle outside the city wall, and Ru. Once Janice took the cookies out of the oven and put the pie on the counter, they headed out to Haven House.
◊◊◊
"So, what do you think?" Skamos was back in Haven House's dining room with his mom after having toured the rooms and meeting Aelderheart.
Janice's eyes began to well up. "I am so grateful that you thought of me staying here. I would be honored." She and Skamos embraced before he interrupted.
"Oh! I forgot about something else." Skamos pulled out from a small pocket the rose quartz necklace, also from the catacombs. "Here, I want you to have this."
Janice covered her mouth with her hands, speechless. She turned around and moved her hair out of the way so Skamos could put it on her. After stepping over to a mirror to admire it, her tears started pouring out. She hugged her son again, squeezing him tighter. Regaining her composure, she gently twirled the stone between her fingers. "This is absolutely beautiful. I'll never take it off."
The sweet moment was abruptly ruined by a loud crash on one of the upper floors. Aeldevan had been busy chasing Magra around the house, trying to stop her from busting every door. Although the ones she got to first magically reassembled almost immediately, he didn't want Magra feeling like she could do it whenever and wherever she wanted. They finally came to a stop when Aeldevan tackled Magra down a flight of stairs to the main floor.
Now that the sun was setting, Magra left to see if Ru was finished at the forge and get Nick. She found the two together, Ru kneeling down and petting Nick's belly. When they noticed the half-orc, Nick bolted to her and leapt into her arms, covering her face with slime.
Once Magra was done playing with Nick, Ru handed her the knuckle dusters. "Just finished silvering these, so I hope you get some good use out of them."
Aeldevan went to go check on Ilyana since she hadn't come back yet. Before heading out, he grabbed a bunch of fabric from his bag of holding and handed it to Skamos and his mom. "Would you two mind putting these up someplace? I think it would be nice to have treasures from our adventures decorating the house." The two unfurled the hydra and Mask god tapestries which would make nice wall decor. "Maybe you could use that as a table runner," Aeldevan said as he pointed to the royal purple altar cloth.
On his way to the medic tents, he stopped by Lirien's to buy back the magic boots he had sold to her earlier, saying a new friend would get some good use out of them.
Aeldevan helped Ilyana walk back since her leg was out of commission. They could have gone faster, but she wasn't comfortable riding him in horse form. Luckily, they met up with Ru and Magra, who effortlessly hoisted the ranger over her shoulder to carry without asking. Ilyana just shook her head and sighed, Aeldevan and Ru giggling behind them.
Once the four got back, Magra commented on how nice the house looked with the tapestries up on the walls. "I could even paint a picture to put up," she added.
"Paint with what, your fingers?" Aeldevan joked.
The humor was lost on Magra, though. "How else do you paint?"
Ru walked over and handed Skamos his silver-tipped whip before Magra whisked her away to show her the house. The barbarian seemed to have let go of the hot air she first had against the fighter.
When Skamos handed the whip to Aeldevan, asking him to put it in their bedroom, Janice raised an amused eyebrow at her son who immediately blushed and dismissed her teasing. The mother and son walked back to her house to get the cookies and pie along with some other supplies. On the way, Skamos offered to pay to have some local workers move all her things to the new house since they were aiming to leave the next day, and he didn't want to rush her.
Meanwhile, Feyre had been quite busy. After spending time in the trees that were beginning to bud, she went to the stables to make sure Dilliah, Dante, and Kevin were all content. It had been over a week since they had come to the city, but the animals didn't seem to mind. They had an area where they could graze and roam, were fed and watered regularly, and even received daily grooming. Feyre thought to herself she would make Aeldevan pay for the bill when it got brought up.
After the stables, Feyre thought it would be a nice surprise to bring a special meal for their first night at Haven House, also seeing as they would be on the road again within the next day or two. She went to the Rumbling Mug to grab some things of hers and place a sizeable order. With the amount of food towering on the counter, Brawny threw in a bottle of apricot wine and sent someone to help Feyre carry it over to the house. As they left, another fight started to break out; Brawny's shouting was barely audible over the ruckus.
As Feyre and her helper approached Haven House, he almost dropped the food he was carrying when Aelderheart's face appeared, greeting Feyre as he swung open for them. Now that he was part of the house again, he no longer needed any assistance moving.
◊◊◊
The sizable dining table was more than enough to accommodate all seven members of Haven's Blade and Janice in addition to the amazing spread provided by Feyre: turkey porridge, onion soup, raw beet salad, and smoked corn smothered in bleu cheese. The apricot wine had already been poured into glasses in addition to Aeldevan's Red Dragon Crush wine. Janice's apple berry pie and chocolate nut cookies sat on a side table, staying warm near the fireplace but out of reach of Nick and Wolfgang who were both curled up in front of the fire.
Once everyone was seated and ready to start, Aeldevan stood up, glass in hand. "I'd like to make a toast. First off, thank you Feyre for providing this amazing meal, and thank you Janice for baking the desserts." The two women were praised by the whole table before Aeldevan continued. "We've come a long way since we met each other, and I'm truly grateful to have gotten the opportunity to travel and fight by your sides. Today we not only gained a beautiful new home," he looked over at Aelderheart whose face was now on the inside, "we also gained an ally." He gestured to Ru, then lifted his glass higher. "To new homes, new friends, old friends, and family."
"And doors!" added Magra. Aelderheart's deep laugh reverberated through the walls, mixing in with everyone else's laughter, cheers, and the sounds of clinking glasses.
During dinner, Ilyana, Janice, and Aelderheart seemed excited to be sharing the house together. Aelderheart was thrilled to be back home and that his house was filled with joyous people and laughter again. He looked forward to having others stay while Haven's Blade continued on their quest. Ru got acquainted with everyone a little more. Luckily, Ilyana didn't have any bitter feelings and didn't feel like she was being replaced; she was glad that someone else who seemed to have a level head would be watching her friends' backs.
After the main course was almost demolished and everyone's stomachs were full, most of them went back to pick up their gear from the Rumbling Mug and grab a few more things from Janice's. Warm dessert would be even better after a short walk in the chilly night air.
Once everyone was back at Haven House, Aeldevan asked Aelderheart to stay alert before addressing the room. "Everyone, I have an idea of what we should do with the artifact. I've been thinking about it since Olorin's. I don't think it would be safe to risk going back to the vault in addition to having two artifacts together. And I don't want to risk the safety of this house, Ilyana, Janice, and honestly this whole city by keeping it here. Even if we were able to melt it down or encase it in steel, its magical energy might still be able to be used the same way. So, I was thinking about our old friend Arabella who still owes us a favor, and I think it might be safer kept somewhere else entirely." Everyone but Janice and Ru were nodding, seeming to understand where the druid was going with this. "If everyone is okay with it, Skamos can use his spell to send her a message. If she doesn't reply, then we can try Ru's method and go from there." Everyone, including Aelderheart and Janice, took a few seconds to think about it before agreeing that this might be the best option.
Skamos readied himself, choosing his words carefully in case the message was heard by others. He spoke into the air, "We need to meet with you in person to cash in our favor."
To everyone's surprise, there was an immediate response, "Where?"
Aeldevan fished the paper that Olorin gave him with the home's address on it out of his pocket to hand to Skamos. With this information and a few descriptors about the fountain outside, Skamos sent his second message.
After a few minutes, the group was worried Arabella hadn't received it. Suddenly, a bright light from the street streamed through the windows. Everyone rushed to peek out of them while Skamos stepped outside. In front of a bright, shimmering portal under the light snowfall, a figure quickly put a stone back into their pocket. Immediately, the portal snapped shut. The figure looked up, revealing the face of Arabella. She smiled when she saw Skamos and hurried to him, going in for a hug when he met her at the bottom of the front steps.
"As you can see, I finally figured out how that damn gate spell works." Skamos laughed at her remark, remembering how the spell had gone horribly wrong just before they met.
After getting her inside, the others in the house who knew her gave her a quick hug hello. They all offered to prepare her food and get her drink; there was still enough from the feast, plus dessert was to be had.
Once all the plates had been polished off and everyone got caught up with Arabella, she turned to Skamos. "So, what do you need?"
In unison, Skamos and Feyre replied, "We need you to hide something."
Aeldevan, motioning for Magra to take the horn from her magic bag, added, "Do you think you could hide this in the Fey Wild?"
Arebella's eyes went wide as the horn came into view. "Is that what I think it is? What have you gotten yourselves into?"
Aeldevan jumped into his routine speech, paraphrasing what had happened since they had parted ways. Arebella's face switched between various reactions of amusement, disgust, and shock. Once the elf-half had finished, the room was quiet while she, Ru, and Janice absorbed everything.
"Yes," Arabella finally said. "Of course I'll help you. Put it in a box first, and I'll take it with me. If something happens, I'll reach out to you."
With Aelderheart's help, Skamos and Aeldevan found a box in the basement that looked sturdy enough without bringing much attention to it. Once the horn was nested inside, Arebella thanked everyone for the hospitality, hugging them all goodbye for now. Stepping back into the street, she cast her gate spell again. She turned to look back at everyone watching from the windows, patted the box, and stepped back through the gate before it closed behind her.
