Disclaimer:
I do not own DanMachi or any of those series characters. Nor do I make any money off my writing.
Synopsis:
It's been six years since the fall of Zeus and Hera familias and the world has changed. Its a time where civilians and adventurers alike are terrorized by Evilus, a group that seems content to slowly seep the great city into a pool of chaos. And it's at this time that Gareth Landlock, high-executive of the Loki familia, stumbles across a six year old dungeon orphan in the middle of the crowded street.
Ch 1: Unexpected Meetings
The Lost (Gareth)
The crisp, sweet spring air was punctuated by an ashen dullness that not only diluted the senses, but also unsettled the mind. The evidence of Evilus' latest attack lingering in the mid morning air. And while the remnants of any casualties had long been seared away, Gareth would swear that he still could smell the coppery metallic scent of wet blood. Perhaps he was just getting old and imagining things.
Five was not a very large number. Five was not a large number of people to lose given the current chaos that gripped the city. But five losses was also more than Gareth could stomach at the moment. One of which being an ex-member of his familia, Loki Familia, and had a newly turned resting place in the Adventurer's graveyard decorated with flowers Gareth had brought there this very morning.
They had been lucky lately. The last several plots Evilus orchestrated had been cut off before there were any real casualties, generating a small time of relative calm for the citizens of Orario. Even a few weeks of relative calmness was a welcome reprieve from the tension and fear that had been so thick in the air that at times you could almost cut it with a sharp dagger or sword.
But everyone's luck runs out eventually. Last night they received word that Evilus was on the move, rearing its ugly head again. No one knew what their true goal was. There were lots of rumors. But for Gareth, the best he could figure is that they were trying to destabilize the old order of familia and Guild control. What 'great' goal were they pursuing? That would have to be a question for a God, Oracle or Priest. Gareth and his familia members just saw the effect their actions on the everyday citizens and knew they couldn't sit idly by while Evilus and those like them wrought their own custom version of havok.
Gareth had led the team last night that raided what was once a warehouse in the industrial district that refined infernal stones for forges and stoves. The stones themselves were exceptionally powerful devices, capable of extended use and the ability to produce enough heat to even melt metal. But as his team entered the building, one of their forward scouts noticed an oddity, and sounded the alarm. The team of Adventurers had alright been on edge, treating the raid much like they would if in the dungeon, but it was too late. Evilus had rigged the building to blow and in the ensuing blast, that forward scout along with a mix of four additional Adventurers and Civilians were later identified as their bodies were pulled from the ruins.
Gareth didn't cry for the fallen, he was an Adventurer that had already lost enough to turn any tears into a wall of numbness he wore like armor. Wasn't this world supposed to become a better place? Who would have thought that the world would go to shit after Zeus and Hera Familias marched off to attack that big honkin dragon.
Gareth shook his head in an attempt to dissipate his own brooding as he continued to walk west down East Main. Dust kicked up from wagon wheels and the souls of people's feet. Shops down both sides had their doors open inviting potential customers to enter and check their wares. The road was just as busy as any other day. But as Gareth took the time to listen, and consider, there was a certain lacklusterness to it all. People held their heads down rushing from one place to another, almost like if they chose to ignore the uncomfortableness that it would simply go away.
It took Gareth a moment to notice that he had stopped straight in the middle of the road. It took another moment to realize why he had. In front of him, not twenty feet away, a grubby little street urchin stood in the middle of the passing crowd. He couldn't have been very old, 6... or 7? And apart from his worn clothes he carried a large satchel on his back that looked like it would easily topple him from a light breeze.
When someone would walk close, the young lad would look up with his rubbilet eyes through an unruly shock of dirty brown hair and follow them for a step or two. Sometimes the individual would scowl down at the child, or say a harsh word, but most times the little one was simply ignored as passersby probably hoped that like their uncomfortableness, he would simply go away too. Either way, each interaction ended the same, with a rubbilet eye'd child left alone standing in the middle of that crowded street. But still, the boy seemed to always rally himself, looking toward the next person that came close and gave his short chase a try once more.
Before Gareth knew it, he was the one standing before the boy's small form. And as he kneeled down, the young boy looked up in surprise and stepped back two, then three, steps. Simple shock from the fact that someone, anyone, would notice him. Even though he had been apparently attempting to capture someone's attention for a while now. Now that someone had finally noticed him, the little tyke looked like he could bolt away at any moment. Gareth held up both hands in surrender as his face broke into the first genuine smile of the day.
"Ello there. Ya look a little bit lost..."
The young boy bit his bottom lip as he hesitantly nodded in confirmation. Thank the Gods, at least the boy seemed to be able to understand Knoine. Still, what was someone doing letting a child this young wander the streets? Evilus's previous attack wasn't even twelve hours ago.
Gareth let out a long sigh. "Now, where are your parents youngin?"
And that was when Gareth noticed tears starting to film around the little boy's eyes. The mental gears finally slid into place. This was probably one of the many dungeon orphans in Orario. With the general chaos of the past few years in and around Orario there was bound to be more than a few running around.
Gareth then took a closer look. The boy wasn't wearing any shoes or boots. In fact, the young boy's feet were all kinds of cut and blistered, characteristic of someone unaccustomed to walking around barefoot on the rough hard stone of the street. Gareth assumed, probably correctly, that the boy had recently lost what shoes he had to other vagrats. And if he was a betting man, and by Loki he was, he guessed that the boy hadn't been an orphan long.
"Ahh lad..." Gareth gently reached out with one strong arm and rested a shovel-like hand on the boy's shoulder. "Do you have someone yur stayin with?"
The little boy shook his head from side to side as he tried to more or less successfully hold back tears.
"Well then, I believe I may know a place that would be more than happy to have you... are you hungry?"
A gargle that sounded just as loud as a goblin's war cry emanated from the little boy's stomach.
"Well, I guess that answers one question. You can call me Gareth."
Food From the Heart (Gareth)
"Hello and welcome to the Hostess of Fertility! Do you need a table for…" The brown haired cat girl glanced around Gareth, cat ears twitching as she noticed the small form huddled behind him. "Ehh… two, nya?
"Thank ye lass, but just a spot at the bar please."
"Nya!"
The Tavern was a bustle of activity. Yet for being a more recent addition to Orario's culinary endeavors, one might expect that the level of popularity experienced by the establishment was unusual. But anyone thinking that would have to be living under a rock… perhaps even a mountain. The tavern's reputation for good food, and its iron fisted matron, had taken through the city like wildfire since its opening. The daily Mama Mia's daily special fanned its flames of notoriety just as hard as the gossip for who was last thrown out on their ear. Mia didn't suffer fools, and her staff didn't either.
Mia stood behind the bar, surveying the crowded room as she wiped down its oak finish. Standing just under six feet tall, she wasn't the tallest individual in the room, but she gave off the sort of gravitas of one knowing that the world could, and would bend around her ironclad will one way or another. This was her domain, and those entering it braved it at their peril… well only if they meant to cause a ruckus at any rate.
"Gareth, what brings your sad excuse of an ass to darken my doorstep?"
Gareth lifted the dirty young boy onto one of the bar stools, heavy satchel in hand, before he pulled himself up onto a second. "Regretfully, this was the closest place to eat. I wasn't going to drag the boy across town just because we've got bad blood."
Mia gravely considered the young boy for a moment before a wide grin split her face. "Oh boy! You're nothing but skin and bones."
She reached beneath the counter and brought up a small bucket of soapy water. "Wash yer hands in that, I won't have you dirtying the bartop I just cleaned. Luna! Yes you girl, bring out a helping of the special." Mia bit her cheek as she glanced back at Gareth for a half second. "No, make that two servings of the special Luna."
A younger looking red-haired serving girl, apparently Luna, waved back to Mia as she disappeared through a door to the kitchens.
Gareth watched the exchange with a silent regard. Even still, it was another half moment before he spoke. "Mia… I know we've had our differences. But back then we both had our own familias in mind first."
Mia grunted lightly, not budging an inch. "And ya hoped that bringing an orphan boy in here would keep me from throttling ya before ya had the chance to say yur peace?"
"He was… is… an unfortunate accident." Gareth looked at the boy who was still trying to wash the dirt off from his hands. "I found him in the streets Mia, wondering." Gareth's jaw suddenly tightened and a far away look clouded his eyes. "We lost Soja in the last Evilus raid last night…"
Mia took in a long breath, holding it for a time before gently letting it out. She then reached over the counter, startling Gareth as she gripped his shoulder in an unexpected act of solidarity.
"He was actually a good soul… for what it's worth, I'm sorry he's gone."
Gareth just nodded, taking the moment to squash down whatever feelings were causing him to feel like he had a lump in his throat.
"Order up!" Luna, red hair now tied back in a bun to keep it out of the way, slid two plates of food in front of Gareth and the young boy before fading away to the nearest table.
Gareth looked down at the plate full of food, and after making sure the boy knew how to use a fork, dug into the food himself. "Hum... this is actually pretty good."
Mia scoffed at the old dwarf. "Well what would ya expect ya old crank?"
Gareth took in another bite before adding. "I'll… need to bring some of the other familia members next time."
In that statement was the barest hint of an olive branch. An offer. A potential way to reset scales that had long ago been tilted. It wasn't the perfect offer, these things rarely are, but it was a start.
And Mia wasn't a fool. She knew the hidden turnings of the world, at least some of them at any rate. "Your money's always good here, and bring this one along with you next time too."
The motherly mistress of the Hostess of Fertility then turned her attention to the young boy who was digging into his own meal with gusto. "Boy, I expect you to eat every morsel on that plate. I won't let it go to waste."
A Temporary Home (Riveria)
A light sigh was let out into the open room. "Gareth, I just don't know why you brought him HERE. We're a dungeon diving familia, not an orphanage."
The boy in question was sitting at one of the long tables in the Loki Familia dining hall. The hall itself was noticeably empty, the other members of the familia long finished with their own dinners and either getting ready to head back into the dungeon, or enjoying what pleasures the evening had to offer. The few Adventurers that remained in the open common areas had paid the top-executive little mind even as he strode into the Twilight Manor followed closely by his new shadow.
The boy was eating from a large bowl of leftover soup Riveria had prepared upon catching the duo and despite eating a portion large enough for a grown dwarf at the Hostess of Fertility, the boy had dug in. The satchel he carried with him was now clutched tight in his lap between him and the table, almost like it carried a precious object that was too valuable to simply leave exposed lest one lose it. The elven vice-captain of the Loki familia was just happy the boy knew how to eat with a spoon.
Gareth's gravelly voice spoke just above a whisper, like one would if they were talking to themselves. "E' eats as much as a dwarf child…"
"...Gareth?"
"Where is e' puttin it all?" The heavy set dwarf finally stopped stroking his beard as he tore an incredulous stare from the young lad who had set down a now empty bowl and was staring into the loaf of bread. As he turned toward Riveria, he was met with one delicately arched jade eyebrow.
"I took em over to Maria's Orphanage, but the building was damaged in one of Evilus' rampages. She probably ad to move until the repairs could be completed."
The high elf raised a hand to start rubbing her temple, "And so you brought him here?"
"'E was alone Riv, and looked like he hadn't had a meal in days. Did you want me to just leave him on the streets?"
"No, no, I just... it's not a safe environment for having a child in."
Riveria glanced over to their common room where Valdor sat cleaning and sharpening his array of various knives. Each gleaming, razor sharp edge laying naked on the coffee table in front of him. No. This was DEFINITELY not a safe environment for a child.
As if he could read the co-captain's mind, Gareth let out a short snort. "We can keep 'em here for a handful ah days until we find somethin more appropriate for 'em. Come on Riv, e's small. What harm can 'e do?"
A slight tug on the hem of her tunic drew Riveria's attention toward the space between her and Gareth where the young boy stood, rubilett eyes wide and imploring as he gazed up in earnestment. The hand that barely managed to tug on the high-elf's clothing also cradled the worn overly large satchel while the other barely held onto his empty bowl and spoon.
"Um… where should I put my bowl?" His voice seemed small, even for him. Like a turtle, peaking out of its shell to check for danger. Riviera's gaze glanced from him to the table where only crumbs remained of the loaf of bread.
Riviera crouched down until she was at height with the youngling. His shock of white hair framing rubilette eyes made for a striking her of a rabbit she once had as a pet… so long ago.
A smile, warmed by the memories of the past came to Riveria's face. "Over by that open window little one…" She said, nodding to the far side of the hall.
A smile of pure innocence showed through the dirt and grime that covered his face before the boy took off. Riveria watched the child discerningly.
"Gareth…"
"Yea?"
"Why is he hobbling?"
Gareth let out a small sigh. "His feet… I was going to ask if you could see to them."
Riveria nodded, that made sense.
"Ok… and what's his name?"
At this, Gareth was actually a bit taken back.
"Ehh… well, we never actually got to that part…"
"Agh… men! Were you planning to call him 'lad' forever?"
The boy raced back after leaving his bowl in the window, now clutching the worn satchel to his chest with both arms. Riviera looked toward Gareth before she nodded at the table.
"Alrighty then lad, alley-oop!" Gareth scooped up the boy and set him down gently on the table's edge while Riveria gave a half hearted glare. The child's bare, dirty and blistered feet hung over its side.
The boy looked between Gareth and Riveria, confusion causing his brows to knit together.
"Did I… did I do something wrong?"
"No, no..." Riveria picked up one of his feet, studying the underside of it for a moment before slightly nodding to herself.
"Can you trust me for a moment while I do something?"
The young boy looked questioningly from Riveria to Gareth before the large Dwarf gave a slight nod while a smirk played across the warrior's weathered face.
"Ok…"
The high elf took a moment to roll up her sleeves. "Now, please don't be frightened. I'm going to try and help."
And as Riveria started to recite the first verse of Fil Eldis, her light musical voice filling the empty hall, the young boy's eyes widened, not in fear, but in wonder and delight. A glow of green materialized over the high elf's hands and she brought them down toward the boy's feet. His torn and blistered skin began to knit together leaving no trace of the mess they had once been.
The boy pulled one of his feet into his lap, craning his neck to look at the new, soft skin that resided there. He poked at it with an index finger. "Woooow, are… are you like queen Celdia, from the stories?"
"No." Riviera hid a smile behind the back of one hand, she didn't want the boy to think she was making sport of him and hurt his feelings.
They boy poked at the bottom of his foot once more. "Thank you…"
"You are very welcome." Riveria let out a radiant smile. "Now can you tell me your name?"
The young boy nodded as he let go of his foot, allowing his leg to hang freely from the table once more. "B-bell Cranel..."
"Bell… that's a good name. Can you tell me where you're from Bell?"
"Um... o-out there?"
What? That wasn't even an answer. Was he trying to be cheeky? No, no, no. He is just a six year old boy who probably doesn't know where he was.
"Ok… but out there where?"
"Um… outside Orario?"
Well he knew the cities name. That should count for something. Alright, this line of questions was going nowhere quick. Perhaps, she thought, she should change her tactic.
"Bell, why did you leave your village? How did you get here?"
"..."
That question seemed to drive all happiness from the young boy as he seemed to shrink in upon himself, clenching the worn satchel even tighter. Head hung low and staring at the floor. Perhaps the boy just needed a little more of a nudge to open up.
"If you tell us, we might be able to..." Riveria trailed off as the boy started to move.
Bell's mouth opened and shut a few times before his words started to fill the void. "... um… I was in the wagon with grandpa, and we were heading into the village…"
"...and a big b-black dragon came out of the sky. Like the one from my picture book…" The far away look in the boy's eyes reminded Gareth of the ones Adventurers had when they returned from the dungeon after a tragedy.
"...I remember falling out of the wagon, and then waking up on the street… But I didn't know where grandpa was…" The boy sniffled lightly, obviously trying to hold back tears.
"...e-everything was burning, and I just had my satchel." The boy seemed to hold onto his little satchel even tighter. Like if he lost it, he might also lose himself.
"I…" But that was when the sobs set in. Large tears born of an innocent who couldn't fathom nor understand what they had recently endured.
"Cursed mines of..." Gareth swept forward and enfolded Bell's young form in his sturdy arms. As if he were trying to protect that young individual from the various cruelties of the world.
The One-Eyed Black Dragon… There were rumors that it had been spotted and destroyed a village recently but it was just that, rumors. That monstrosity hadn't been awake in nearly a decade now.
Riveria looked at Gareth knowingly.
The Dwarf high-executive of the Loki familia pulled back from Bell's small form and took a seat beside the table. "Bell lad... could we see what you have in that bag of yours?"
Bell looked down... as if considering for a moment before roughly wiping his eyes with both palms and nodding his head.
The first thing Bell pulled out was an extremely heavy book. Riveria's eyebrows climbed into her hair at the site of it. Could this little human actually read? It wasn't uncommon for those living on the outskirts of civilization to forgo literature as they mostly worked with simpler trades.
But as she saw the cover, a smirk came unbidden to her face, one that wasn't hidden behind her hand this time. 'Dungeon Oratoria'. They had a copy of that one in the Loki familia library. It was a collection of Heroic epics surrounding Orario and the Dungeon. Though, at a second glance, it looked like Bell's had been custom designed. She could easily see how a boy his age would be drawn to the characters from those tales.
"That is a nice book. It is yours?"
"Yes... my grandpa made it for me."
The second thing that Bell took out of his bag was pearly white and near as long as the boy's forearm shaped in the form of a curved cone. At its widest end its jagged appearance gave the impression that it had torn or broke from something larger. As Bell heaved it up with both hands it gave a loud *thunk* as he set it down on the table.
"I'll be..." Gareth stroked his beard as he gazed down on what was probably the rarest monster drop in the world. It seemed to emanate a power of its own, and because of what it came from, gareth thought that it very well probably did. It looked very close to an enlarged version of the Fang or Claw from a Valgang Dragon, or Wyvern.
"I-I found that after I woke up…" His crying seemingly to have run out, young Bell let out a wide yawn. Small palms reached up to rub at already half closed eyes.
The turmoil of remembering was the thing that finally pushed the boy past exhaustion. The boy was practically already asleep on his feet. And even as Gareth reached out to steady the boy, Bell's eyes fluttered shut and his small body collapsed into the support.
There was the sloshing sound of a liquid in glass, shortly followed by the heavy thump of a heavy glass bottom set down on one of the hardwood tables.
Lady Loki, patron goddess of the Loki familia, took a seat on the side opposite of Gareth at the table and studied the young man through a narrow stare.
"How much were you able to catch Loki?"
Neither high-executive were surprised at the goddesses' sudden appearance. She always did have a nack for showing up when they least expected it.
"Most of it." Loki shrugged as she took another swig from the bottle. A small lock of her vermillion hair falling from the tight bun it was kept in as her head tilted back. "I saw you bring him in Gareth and decided to do some… eavesdropping."
Loki eased the bottle back down to the table. "The little one had a worn look about him. Didn't know if too many strangers would cause him to clam up. And what a story, ehh?"
Riveria, watched Loki with a sidelong glance. "Was he telling the truth?"
"He was at the very least telling you the truth he believes."
Gareth let out a humph of exasperation, "Well that's more cryptic of ya then usual, what gives?"
"When you mortals experience trauma, your minds do some interesting things… You lot have seen Adventurers deal with the trauma of the dungeon… for how long now?" Loki let her index finger point back at the boy. "That's what he is going through."
Gareth nodded slowly. Loss was no stranger to any of them. Death loomed over their heads every day they went into the dungeon. And even now, during these dark days of Orario, Evilus rampaged throught the city streets, terrorizing other Adventurers and citizens alike. No one knew the future, and fretting incessantly over it could drive one mad. You simply had to take what precautions you could, and believe that you'd make it through whatever fate decided to throw your way.
But this boy, he was an innocent of this world. He didn't yet have either means or capability to handle himself in it.
Gareth looked over toward Loki who was already studying him. "So, what's the play?"
Loki sat for a moment before she pushed back her chair, picking up the glass bottle as she stood. "Well I think… that if he is going to stay here he needs to get cleaned up. If I'm not mistaken, that dirty lot masquerading as hair on his head is actually white."
Safe (Gareth)
The room was little more than four walls, a bed, desk, and chair. But there was the fresh scent of cleaner that lingered in the air and while the bed sheets were plain, they were also comfortable and warm. The Loki familia had come far in the past several years from their more humble beginnings. Applicants who came to Orario always would seek out the strongest familias. And the Loki familia was counted among the best.
Gareth had no doubt that this room would have shortly been serviced to some Adventurer or another bent on making a name for himself. But for now, if even only for a short time, this room would help provide shelter for the small form he carried in one arm. The child's head resting on his shoulder.
Before Gareth tucked the boy away, he deposited Bell's storybook and monster drop on the top of the desk. And as he pulled the covers up and around the boy's head, he was reminded of long ago, and far away. A man who smelled of soot, rock, and saltpeter who tucked in a young dwarf in a way much like this.
And as the dwarf opened the door and turned to take his leave, he heard a small voice muffled by sheet covers.
"Gareth…?"
Red eyes framed by that shock of white hair peeked from where they were tucked into the bed.
"Yes lad?"
"Could you… could you read me a story?"
Gareth took a moment to close the door, before he reached out and brought over the chair and Bell's book.
"Sure."
Author's Note:
This story kind of crept up on me when writing 'Fabric of Fate'. I really wondered what life would be like if Bell grew up with more of a family, and likewise how he would influence them. Also, I may have thought it would be cute to see how Ais and Bell grow up together.
And just because I know people will be wondering, I'll answer 2 'not-yet-but-probably-in-the-future' questions I'd expect to get:
* None of the younger crowd has joined the Loki familia yet, thought some may already be in the city.
* Of the usual hostess staff your used to, only Anya and Syr are currently working at the Hostess of Fertility. Both are very fresh at their jobs.
I'm not sure what kind of update schedule this will have, but I wanted to see if anyone was interested if I continued it. My main focus is still on my main story, but I thought this might be an easy thing to bust out every once in a while since I'm not trying to keep as many parallel story threads in line with this tale.
Like always, please stay safe out there everyone. Sending good vibes and well wishes.
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