HOLD IT!
If you have not read the original Requiem for an Adventurer, it is highly recommended that you do so, as the following story not only contains prominent spoilers for it, but takes place directly after its' epilogue.
If you have already done so, feel free to proceed.
World of Requiem: The Letter
Written by jdubbam and Newgame+LD
Johanna's House
Daytime
Alfur sat out the window, gears still turning in his head. "Still no word from the other elves…" Alfur thought. "I hope they got the message."
Suddenly, he noticed a squirrel arrive, with another elf on top of it. "Are you Alfur Aldric?"
"Yes, that's me." Alfur replied.
"I got your e-mail. Figured I'd come here personally." The elf replied. "I have the information you seek."
"Y-you do?"
"Yes." The elf answered. "It's the name of her father."
"Her father?" Alfur questioned, confused and stunned. "What do you mean?"
"...Seriously?" The courier responded. "Do you knowanyone else who was a blue-haired twelve year old girl who wore big red boots and lived with a single parent - let alone a single mother?"
"I... wasn't exactly paying attention." Alfur replied sheepishly. "I heard that name years before I met Hilda, but I wasn't sure who it was. I did know that it had to have meant something, though."
"Well, there's your 'something'. What were you even planning on doing with this kind of information, anyway?"
"Now that you've asked that… I don't really know." Alfur replied. "Maybe I should tell Mum about it."
"... Mum?"
Alfur realized that he kinda let it slip. The fact that he was now kind of an unofficial adopted son of the family was out of the bag.
"I… uh… I'll just... take this and... be on my way." Alfur said as he took the letter, his face nearly as red as his hat and shirt. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it...?" The courier said. At this point, the sound of crickets chirping would be the perfectly awkward cherry on top.
"GOODDAYTOYOUPLEASEDONTTELLANYONE!" Alfur abruptly and quickly screamed.
The courier was startled for a moment as Alfur ran off. After a brief pause, he pulled the brim of his hat over his face.
"Good grief…" He muttered before mounting his squirrel and taking off.
Alfur's Room
Alfur sat in his clockhouse, pondering to himself. The courier's question weighed heavily on his mind.
Sure, he did get a confirmation as to what the name meant, but there was no way he could treat the revelation that came with it like it was nothing.
The elf's first thought was to try and ask someone - but who?
He thought to ask Johanna about it, but after thinking it over, he deduced that it wouldn't be a good route to take for a variety of reasons.
David or Frida, perhaps? No. In that case, he'd be going behind Johanna's back regarding something more than likely very personal to her.
"Alfur?"
A familiar voice bringing him out of his thoughts, Alfur looked to see Johanna and Twig. They stood at the entrance of the mini-museum that was once Hilda's bedroom.
"Are you alright? I haven't seen or heard from you all day." Johanna asked.
"Oh! Uh, I'm fine, no need to worry." Alfur replied swiftly. "Just getting back into the swing of reports. It's been a long time, after all."
"Well, that's good to hear." Johanna responded pleasantly. "I've been meaning to tell you something myself, but I've been wanting to wait until I was ready."
"Really? Do tell."
Johanna then took a deep breath.
"Do you remember the hardware store I used to work at, by any chance?"
"Yes?" Alfur asked.
"Okay. You've probably noticed that I've been putting a good chunk of my time towards graphic design again… but now I think it's finally starting to pay off."
"I'm all ears…"
"They're currently going under a total renovation. The Marra attack did quite a number on the place, and they want to start fresh by the time it's rebuilt. Luckily, they've been able to find someone to help with just that… oh, I just can't help it! They're making me head of graphic design for their rebrand!" Johanna announced joyously.
"Really? That's wonderful!" Alfur said, equally as merry having heard the news.
"I know! It'll be a while before they're ready to unveil what I've been doing, but they've been very pleased with what I've shown them!" Johanna continued.
"Hilda would be so proud." Alfur cried.
"Hey, I heard the news!" Tontu said as he popped out of a wall. He was then scooped up into Johanna's arms. "Congratulations, mum!"
"Thank you, Tontu. Both of you, really." Johanna responded.
Suddenly, Johanna heard the sound of her phone buzzing. She reached into her pocket, grabbing it and opening it to find that the hardware store had sent out messages to her.
"It's the hardware store. They want me to come and present what I've done this week." Johanna explained. "Maven should be here to drive me there in a few minutes. I'll speak with you two as soon as I can!" She said on her way out to the front door. "Be good!"
"Aren't we always?" Alfur said.
As Johanna left the house, Alfur knew that this was most certainly a cause for celebration. He was so merry, he had almost forgotten what had put him in such a conflicted state prior - not that it lasted long.
"Boy, things are really going our way, huh?" Tontu said as he emerged again from the Nowhere Space. He held a cup of cocoa in his hand. However, he and Twig noticed that something was up when Alfur didn't respond.
"Uh… you okay there?" The Nisse asked.
Alfur felt he couldn't keep quiet to himself any longer. He had to open up to someone.
"Tontu… you can be entrusted with a secret, right?"
"I already don't like where this is going, but for curiosity's sake, let's say yes."
After a quick breather, Alfur began to relay everything.
"For the longest time, I've been hearing Mum utter this... name." Alfur began. "It wasn't anything I was particularly familiar with, either. Before we met you, I had sent out a message to the elves to see if they could try and figure out what it was."
"And today happened to be the day they got back to you about that?"
"Indeed." Alfur replied. "Granted, I would have tried to send it out sooner, but the whole Marra debacle set me back quite a bit."
"Scared to ask, but… who does this name belong to?" Tontu inquired.
"Hilda's father." Alfur responded. "I think I might have seen him when I was little… well… little-er than this. The last I saw of him… I think there was a nasty storm, and a lot of rebuilding."
Tontu just stood there, frozen in place by what he was hearing.
"I know this is an enormous thing to take in, but… what should I do? Should I tell mum, or anyone else for that matter?" Alfur asked the Nisse, desperate for something, anything resembling an idea.
Unfortunately, now Tontu too was conflicted. He had only barely just moved in with Johanna, and didn't even have any prior knowledge of them by living near them unlike Alfur. He really didn't want to get involved with serious family matters like this yet.
"I-I don't think I'm the right person to ask…"
The elf sighed. He should have known this was the type of answer he'd get.
"I'm sorry. I really am." Alfur said remorsefully.
Tontu was perceptive of the weariness in the elf's tone, and began to feel a little bad himself. This wasn't anything he wanted any involvement in, but had it not been for them, not only would he still be homeless, but Jellybean and his owner would still be separated. Not to mention that these were the guys who risked arrest at the hands of the Trolberg Safety Patrol all because of the uproar that had surrounded his kind. If those weren't people worth owing something to, he didn't know who was.
He had to try. At the very least.
"Look. If you need a suggestion… we shouldn't worry about this." Tontu said, doing his best to come across as reassuring. "At least, not right now."
"I suppose so…" Alfur agreed. "But what are we supposed to do in the meantime? We just can't have it out in the open."
"Well... maybe… look, how am I supposed to know?! You're the one who sent the damn letter out in the first place!" Tontu suddenly raised his voice.
However, the two noticed that Twig was still there, looking perplexed after hearing the conversation. Then he let out a bit of a whine.
"I think he might be hungry." Alfur pointed out.
"Yeah… I'll... be in the pantry." Tontu awkwardly replied before they all headed off and prepared lunch for themselves, hoping to try and ease their states of mind.
The Nowhere Space - Johanna's House
Night
It was fairly early in the night, but Tontu could already tell getting a satisfactory rest wasn't in the cards.
With the amount of time that had passed, his feelings of apprehension had only grown. Tontu almost wanted to curse Alfur for getting him in on such a pressing matter, but at the same time, he knew that wouldn't be fair to the elf. It wasn't like Alfur knew what to expect hearing back, and he had made it clear that there weren't that many people he felt like he could go to.
Thinking he owed Alfur an apology, Tontu decided to try and see if he was still awake.
Alfur's Room
As convenience would have it, Alfur wasn't having much luck sleeping himself.
Questions gnawed at his mind, insistent on keeping him away from the sanctity of rest as he tossed and turned in the bed of his clockhouse. If Hilda's father was still alive… where in the world was he? What could have caused him to leave his family in the first place? How would he react upon learning about everything that transpired between then and now?... let alone what became of his daughter?
His thoughts were interrupted, if briefly, by Tontu quietly calling out for him. Opening it, he was greeted by the Nisse, who was still looking a little antsy, but comparatively less so than when Alfur came to him for advice.
"Yes?" Alfur asked as he came out.
"I… wanted to apologize."
"If this is about earlier today, it's fine. Believe me."
"Look, you can say that it was fine and act like it was fine, but I know for a fact it was certainly not fine. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, at all."
Tontu's adamancy had thrown Alfur in for a bit of a loop. He hadn't expected the Nisse to spontaneously raise his voice the way that he did, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't make him feel a little uncomfortable. However, Alfur couldn't blame Tontu considering the latter had just moved in not long ago. Getting accustomed to the kind of stuff that occured in a family unit as unconventional as theirs took more than a number of things. Okay, a lot more than a number of things - but that was beside the point.
"Well, I still forgive you. Please don't be so hard on yourself." Alfur said reassuringly.
"I guess you're right." Tontu said as he slumped down the side of what was once Hilda's bed. "I just wish we could figure out how we're going to approach this."
"Me too, Tontu." Alfur sighed. "Maybe you were onto something… maybe we shouldn't be worrying about this right now."
"R-really? I didn't really think that through, you know… that just came off the top of my head more than anything. And what about the others? How long are we supposed to go without telling them about this?"
"...I don't know. Hopefully not too long."
Tontu nods. "I hope so too. Good night, Alfur."
"Good night, Tontu."
The two finally retired for the night for good, hesitancy about whatever the future held still lingering in their minds. Still, the most they could do was hope for the best.
After all… with everything that had led them to this point, surely they could handle anything as long as they all stuck together.
...wouldn't they?
To Be Continued in Requiem II: Shattered Connections