It had been a long day, and yet Faerthurin was knocking on Oin's door at the inn anyways. They had fought the dwarven armies, then banished a Balor, and had finally learned the truth of Vorgrin Vineblight, who just so happened to be the dwarf whose door she was waiting at. She didn't have to wait long; Oin stoically opened the door and didn't seem the least bit phased that she was standing outside of it. But she had come to expect that from him. That's why she had a plan to throw him off his guard.

"Good evening, Oin," she greeted cordially, and he just stared up at her. She cleared her throat and continued, "I'd like to play a game of cards with you. May I come in?"

Inwardly, she smiled proudly at the look of surprised skepticism on the dwarf's face, and she sauntered right past him into the room. She located the small table in the center and pulled it closer to the bed so she could sit, leaving the other chair for him. Oin closed the door slowly and eyed her suspiciously as he walked over to the chair she had so kindly left for him.

"What are you scheming, Faerthurin?" he asked slowly, glowering at her with undisguised frustration. It took everything in her not to giggle. Finally, knowing something that he didn't.

"Like I said, I wanted to play a game of cards, Oin. I assume five card draw is fine?" Deftly, she began to shuffle the deck of cards she had borrowed from the innkeeper and dealt them each five cards. Oin sat in the chair, not taking his eyes off of her or the cards. She picked up her hand as if there weren't a confusedly frustrated dwarf in front of her and began to organize her cards. She motioned for him to do the same. "Well, go on, we can't play if you don't pick up the cards."

Sighing with resignation, Oin obliged and studied his hand. Fae placed down two cards and Oin placed down only one.

"What are we betting, Faerthurin?" he asked through nearly clenched teeth, and Fae actually let out a small giggle.

"I'll tell you when someone wins." She dealt out the replacement cards and then showed her hand; three sevens, a jack, and a queen. Oin placed his down as well; full house with three twos and a pair of kings.

"I win. What is it that I win?"

"We're playing," Fae said slyly, "for secrets." She could see the mild consternation on his face when he realized she had roped him into this game, but she quickly added, "Since I lost, I'll go first, all right?"

Oin remained silent, and Fae inhaled slowly as she began to shuffle the cards once more. "I was… very lonely for most of my life. It was just me and my father. And you can probably tell what wonderful company he would be. So, for my longer study sessions when he left me alone, I had… an imaginary friend."

She could tell he was mildly intrigued by this, but she pursed her lips to indicate that she would not tell anymore unless he won again. Oin reached for the cards and began to deal the hands. He removed three from his hand and Fae discarded two once more. Once he had dealt out the proper amount, they showed their hands; Oin won again with three kings against Fae's pair of eights.

"She was a dwarf named Tulip," she continued, "Tulip Bravebeard. And yes, she did have a beard. I thought all dwarves, male and female, had beards when I was young." Fae had hoped to get him to smile at that a little bit but was not surprised when he didn't. He shuffled the cards and passed them to her to deal, which she did. In the end of that hand, Fae lost again with three nines against his four queens. She didn't mind; all according to plan.

"Tulip was a brave adventurer and told me stories of her journeys. Mostly they were just slightly tweaked re-tellings of novels that I had read, but I didn't mind. Tulip took care of me and talked to me when Lucid couldn't. I know she was in my own head, but she was a great source of comfort to me. Once, I actually tried to cast a spell that would bring her to life," Fae admitted, and Oin's eyebrow raised. "I drew her and I tried casting an animation spell I found in an old book on the drawing."

Fae stopped again; she had him intrigued. He dealt the cards and only took one for himself. She took three. He won for the fourth time in a row with two pairs of eights and sevens against her solitary pair of tens. Oin looked to her, and it appeared to the clever elf that he was trying to disguise his interest so she continued on.

"The spell… well, it was unsuccessful to put it mildly. I almost caught my whole study on fire. And it burned my picture. Since I was so young, I thought I'd killed Tulip." Oin leaned forward to shuffle the cards, almost appearing to pretend like he wasn't listening. Fae just smiled and continued, "I hadn't, of course, but those three days until she returned were absolute hell for me. And I couldn't show my father I was sad because… well, you know how he is."

Oin dealt the cards again. He took three, she only took one, and then they displayed. He had a royal straight.

Faerthurin had a straight flush.

The dwarf just glared at her cards for a few moments, and Fae waited patiently. She was praying that he would actually indulge her for a moment, just give her some sort of insight into himself. Had he been in pain all these decades? Had he enjoyed his solitude? Why was he with them? Did he even want to be here with them or was he here out of some sort of obligation to Olidammara? An answer, any answer, was all she sought.

The minutes ticked by, but Fae was not giving up. She wanted to know something about the man who had felt so desperate not to be rejected that he had manufactured dreams to save them from and who had lived with a curse that left him without affection for over a century. She wanted to understand her ally, and she had already offered up what she could of herself.

She had lost count of the minutes that had passed with him staring at her cards before she heard him inhale and say slowly, "Being with this party… it is the most I have interacted with anyone other than Olidammara in nearly a hundred years. And it is the longest I have been with a group in my entire life. It is… overwhelming at times. But… not always unpleasant."

Fae smiled. Mission accomplished. She collected the cards and rose from the bed, preparing to exit. She was stopped when she reached the door when she heard him intone, "Was that all you needed?"

"More than enough, Oin. Thank you for the game," she said sincerely and exited the room. She nearly bumped into Reiyn as he rushed down the hallway towards the stairs, so she called out, "Be careful, Reiyn!"

A quick wave of acknowledgment met her warning, and she headed the other way towards the room that she was sharing with Amber. She didn't get far, though, before she noticed Jalerom waiting by the door to her room, wearing a much more sparse ensemble than she was used to.

"How did it go?" the half-elf asked concernedly. She smiled widely.

"Just as I had hoped," she replied.

"And?"

"He loves us, in his own way, I'm sure," she said confidently, and Jalerom raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that a little strong?"

"Maybe. But I'm choosing to believe that he's stayed so long because he cares for us. It makes sense with what he told me." Her eyes darted around, looking around for any sign of Reiyn or anyone else, and quickly pecked Jalerom on the cheek before ducking into her room. Satisfied, she slipped into her bed and quickly fell asleep. Smiling, Jalerom returned to the room he was splitting with Kross and Reiyn and shook his head. He hoped what Fae said was right. He checked his gear – trousers, light armor, belt, etc. – and then slipped into his own slumber.

xxx

Oin moved the table and chair back to where they had been as Ivan entered the room. The gnome waved to him sleepily before getting into his own bed, and within seconds Oin could hear soft, even breathing.

The dwarf crawled into his own bed, burnt, tired, and drained, and laid his head on the pillow. He squeezed his eyes shut, still kicking himself for getting pulled into Fae's little game, and the voice of Olidammara drifted into his mind.

Good job, Oin! It's okay to like them, you know.

Oin quietly groaned and turned to his side.

They like you too, you know. Especially the gnome, the dragon, and the young boy.

Oin mentally growled.

All right, all right, I'll leave you alone for tonight! Pinkie promise! Just remember, every curse has its own blessings, Vorgrin, and you never know what they are.

He felt his deity's presence vanish from his mind and relaxed. Never did he hate Olidammara's ability to read him more than he did right that moment.