Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 5
By Louis Kemner 2008
Birds chirped outside Viktor's window as bright yellow Saturday sunshine came in through the window. Viktor turned over in his bed, then pulled back the covers and stood up, stretching. He had dreamed entirely of his magic adventure of the last few days, full of weird things, including Devin's face on Niv-Mizzet shooting swarms of bees, and Ashley sprouting wings and chasing Viktor around. Plus Viktor's grandfather was in there, with a Blind Hunter on his shoulder like a pet, and he had told it to bring Viktor to him for his ultimate fate, or whatever.
Pulling himself away from dreamland, Viktor looked at his deck of cards sitting on his bedside table, innocent and ordinary-looking, sitting there amid other everyday objects. Viktor picked the cards up, and found Thorn Elemental. He held it in front of him, and said, "Thorn Elemental!" Nothing happened.
It made sense, of course. Here, these were ordinary cards, without Multiverse auras to bring it to life. Laughing at himself, Viktor set the deck back down and went downstairs.
"Morning. You slept in quite late," his mom said as she fried eggs for him in the kitchen. She spoke Bulgarian to him; she was still learning English and didn't want to try it until her technique was better.
"I guess I was really tired," Viktor answered in kind, sitting at the kitchen table. He yawned.
"Your grandfather will be here in the early afternoon," the mother said, giving him his breakfast. "Remember that he hasn't seen us for over a year and a half. You can tell him all a bout your college courses and new friends. He'll like to hear how his grandson is coming along in a new country."
"Sure," Viktor said, digging into his breakfast.
Viktor spent the rest of the morning with leisurely activities and TV, until his mom checked outside and said, "Georgi is here!" Viktor turned off the TV and tidied the couch, and Viktor's father, Sergei, came in to meet his own father. The taxi outside pulled up, and footsteps could be heard. The front door opened, and a balding old man with white hair walked slowly in with a smile on his face.
"Afternoon, everyone," he said, setting his suitcases down. He, too, spoke Bulgarian; he had never learned any other language, except for a bit of Greek in college. He closed the door and embraced his family in a group hug.
"You're lively, Georgi," Viktor's mom beamed.
"Ahhh, yes, I booted my woes away," Georgi said, sitting down on the couch. He certainly had an old look to him: the top of his head was bald, with a halo of wispy white hair around his head. He wore thick, plastic framed glasses and wore a light brown suit. He was a proper and formal man, but radiated goodwill and cheer in the room.
"There's my grandson," he said happily, seeing Viktor and motioning him closer and embracing him. "You're quite a young man, there. I remember when your own father was that age. Hardy looked any different than you." They parted. "So what have you been up to?" Georgi asked.
The conversation went on for roughly half an hour, with everyone catching up with everyone's lives. Old man Georgi told of how native Bulgaria was coming along, with the economy growing and plenty of sunshine for an old man's skin. After getting a coffee, Georgi said, "Hmmm. Sergei, Petya, I'd like some time alone with Viktor. We've got some things to discuss." Looking slightly put off, Viktor's parents left the room and went upstairs.
Viktor sat silent, watching his grandfather. He got the feeling that this would be what Georgi had really come for. After a short time, Georgi said, "Now, grandson, I understand that you had an interesting adventure with your friends a little ago."
"What?" Viktor said, acting ignorant. He didn't want any trouble to arise.
"There, there, you don't have to be like that," Georgi reprimanded. "I know that you were teleported to the Magic universe. And you met a certain someone."
"Are you talking about that weird woman?" Viktor asked.
"Exactly her," Georgi said, a serious expression settling onto his old face. "Please, invite all your friends who went there with you. They all need to hear what I must say."
Nodding, Viktor pulled out his cell phone and called each friend. They were all available, and were soon on the front porch looking confused. Viktor let them all in and introduced them to his grandfather. They all sat down and regarded Georgi.
"I know that all five of you were taken into the Multiverse," the old man told them all. He spoke English, which surprised Viktor; Georgi had never revealed this. Devin started to say something, only to have Georgi cut him off. "Now now, you all aren't in trouble. I will make sure this excursion stays secret. Rather, you need to know what is happening, and how and why you could open the portal.
"I suppose I should start with the basics. You see, there are a number of Planes within the Multiverse. They are all linked, allowing beings called Planeswalkers to travel between them. Each Planeswalker has great power within them. The only exception is Ravnica, which is separate from the other Planes and cannot be entered or left."
The five kids sat in silence, taking in this sudden information. Viktor got the feeling that they had stumbled into something great.
"Some time ago, in the Dominaria plane, there was a tribe of nomads struggling to exist. They faced terrible hardships, with wild beast attacks, famine, civil war, and others. One young girl in the tribe named Elena set herself to mend her people's existence. She was discovered to have unusual magical ability, with almost effortless ease could cast minor spells. She ravenously studied old and powerful magic and enchantments, in an attempt to become strong enough to ward trouble away from her people.
"She was met with a measure of success, but a jealous clan of mages attacked the tribe in hopes of killing Elena and stealing her power. Almost all of the tribe was destroyed, leaving only Elena's immediate family alive. With this, Elena was sparked with the Planeswalker power. She sought to protect what family she had, for they were all she had in the world. She hunted down terrible and forbidden magic, hiring mercenaries and evil mages and spirits. They took advantage of her and possessed her, making Elena a tool of their thirst for conquest. She crossed from plane to plane, amassing magic from every plane's best sources.
"Eventually, the other Planeswalkers had decided she had gone too far. They banded and cornered her, and punished her by stripping her of all her Planeswalker power, in addition to her other abilities. She was banished to a remote corner of Dominaria, all alone. However, the spirits that had enhanced her found and re-entered Elena's body, giving some of her powers back. She found and killed a fellow Planeswalker and leeched his power, giving her the rest of her power. Thus, a war started between Elena and the other Planeswalkers."
Viktor and the others sat in stunned silence at this fantastic tale. Here was talk of a great battle that had raged in a magical realm, and they had all entered that same universe!
"That's crazy," Devin said. "What a story. How do we fit in? How did we get there? Are we also Planeswalkers, or what?"
"The answer to that lies in the rest of the story," Georgi explained. He finished his coffee. "The Planeswalkers alone can't defeat Elena. Even if combined, and if they could slay her now, she could use her trickery and evasiveness to fight them one-on-one, and kill them. Further, she would absorb the defeated Planeswalkers and become ever stronger. To further their cause, the Planeswalkers imbued your cards with their power, giving you all Planeswalking power. You have an improved version, actually. You can go to and from the Ravnica plane, and the other Planeswalkers cannot.
"Ajani Goldmane, Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Garruk Wildspeaker, and Liliana Vess all need your help in their war. Those cards, the Key Creatures, house the bulk of your power. Should they fall in Elena's hands, she will absorb the Key Creatures' power, and then the war will essentially be lost. Don't ever let that happen."
"That's incredible," Ashley breathed.
"Yeah, that sure knocked me for a loop," Gerbie said, crawling out of Ashley's pocket. Ashley expressed her surprise at his presence.
"What, I didn't want to miss out on whatever you were going to do," the gerbil said. "I wanna do wherever you do."
"What is this?" Georgi asked, smiling and looking at the animal. "A talking gerbil?"
"Yeah, he's Gerbie. I bought him in Ravnica," Ashley explained, holding Gerbie up. He gave a squeak of acknowledgement.
"Very interesting," Georgi said. "Make sure that no one sees this gerbil. He could cause trouble."
"Sure, I'll be out of sight," Gerbie agreed. "Anyway, old man, keep saying your story. I like it."
"I'm 'old man'?" Georgi repeated, his smile not fading. "You're an interesting animal, Gerbie. Anyway." He slumped back on the couch to get more comfortable.
The five of them pulled out their decks, and then pulled out the five that had reacted with each other to open the portal. Georgi looked them over.
"So much depends on plain old cards," Kelly said, taking hers back. "They seem so ordinary, but are so important, too. What would happen if we released the creatures in the Multiverse?"
"They would be at risk of being absorbed by Elena," Georgi said. "But you must release them. You will need their exceptional power to rival Elena's own, along with the other Planeswalkers. I know I ask much of you all, but this must be done. Your mission must be to ally with the Planeswalkers and defeat Elena, for the good of both this world and that one. I can only hope you are ready for this."
"We'll do our best," Devin promised. The others agreed.
"And how do you know all this?" Viktor asked his grandfather. "That was a lot you told us."
"I can't reveal much about that," Georgi said. "But I have contact with the Planeswalkers and am connected to the Multiverse. You have your mission: take advantage of your full capabilities and defeat Elena for good."
Viktor could feel an iron will and resolve form in him, and he nodded. Much depended on him and his friends. He could not let his grandfather down.
Later that day, the five of them visited the hobby store, and had bought a number of new cards. After all, they could need powerful new spells to ready them for combat. Viktor had gotten a Simic Sky Swallower, to Gerbie's delight. It was a 6/6 flying creature with trample and shroud. Makoto got a number of useful samurai, and Devin boasted Dragon Tyrant, a 6/6 flyer with trample and double strike. Kelly bought Reiver Demon, another 6/6 flyer. When it comes into play, all non-artifact and non-black creatures are destroyed. Makoto found Iizuka the Ruthless, which let Makoto sacrifice a samurai to give all samurai double strike. Ashley got her hands on Dovescape, which countered all non-creature spells and gave the spell's controller a number of flying bird tokens.
The five of them re-organized their decks. Rather than sixty-card decks, each one now had roughly twenty, consisting of the cards they would need most. The Key Cards were put into deck boxes and sealed closed. They could not risk losing them.
The week progressed normally, with Viktor and Devin attending their college courses. Viktor had met his teacher, Professor Smith, and bought him the Army of Entropy Shadowmoor deck. It had powerful elementals, such as Ashenmoor Liege and Din of the Fireherd. The deck was quite effective, and Viktor enjoyed playing against it.
Finally, on the next Saturday, Georgi had called from Bulgaria (where he had returned earlier that week) and told Viktor that he should return to the Multiverse to start his mission. Georgi had explained on the phone that the number of Key Cads touching each other would determine which Plane would be visited. Five was for Ravnica, four for Lorwyn, two for Kamigawa, three for Dominaria, and just one for Mirrodin. There were other planes, too, but Georgi said that these five planes were the main ones Elena visited and recruited from. Plus, Planeswalkers couldn't travel to Ravnica since it was disconnected from the other planes, but the Spirits could easily teleport there, allowing the kids to do the same. Elena could obviously go there, too. They were further told that they should seek out the Planeswalkers whenever possible, and that they could still Planeswalk in case they lost their Key Creatures. Of course, it was best to simply not lose them at all.
"So, are we ready?" Devin asked as he and his friends took out their Key Cards. They were all in Devin's room, with the blinds closed and door locked. They had concocted a story that they were going on a trip together to New York State, for the week. With the cover set, they set together four of the cards.
The familiar portal opened, drawing in the air in the room. The five of them allowed themselves to be drawn in and taken to another world.
Viktor tumbled onto sun-warmed grass crawling with ants and ladybugs. He rightened himself and sat for a second, taking in his surroundings. The sun was big and bright yellow in the sky, and fluffy white clouds hovered like a fleet of spaceships. The air was temperate and relaxing, and a light breeze ruffled Viktor's clothes and hair. He and his friends were in a small, green meadow, bordered by forests. The trees looked ordinary, with average size and canopies of green leaves. Insects buzzed in the air, and in the distance, birds cawed.
"Sure is a nice place," Makoto commented, looking around and shielding his eyes from the sun. "This is Lorwyn, right?"
"Yeah, Viktor's grandpa said four cards would take us here," Kelly confirmed.
"I could almost live here," Ashley said brightly, lying down on her stomach to watch an insect crawl up a blade of grass. "It's warm and sunny and nice."
"Holy Sky Swallowers," Gerbie said as he crawled out of Ashley's pocket and took in the scenery. "Where are we? I don't see a building anywhere! And where is everyone?"
"It's Lorwyn," Kelly repeated for him. "It's a different plane from Ravnica, where you come from. There aren't many buildings here. There's a lot of wilderness, inhabited by treefolk, elves, boggarts, and other tribal races."
"Whoa whoa, did you say tribes?" Gerbie said, scampering on top of Ashley's head to get a better look. "Not the ten guilds? No Simic, Dimir, Orzhov, or anything? I haven't gone a single day without hearing about the guild feuds and what the leaders are up to, or the Guildpact. I guess I can say goodbye to Mormir Vig, my great Simic creator… it saddens me…"
"Don't be sad," Kelly said. "We can go to the Ravnica plane whenever we like. We're just going to be here for now. And we should set off, too. There's nothing here. Maybe a peaceful town could give us help."
"Bah. No guild halls. Some stupid hut of sticks called a house awaits me, with crazy wood elves in it," Gerbie sniffed. "If I don't get stepped on by a treefolk or get eaten by some goblin or whatever."
"It'll be fine," Ashley told the gerbil on top of her head. She got up, taking hold of Gerbie and putting him back in her pocket. "The tribes are peaceful, sometimes. Maybe they'll give us help and not run us down."
"Well, let's go," Viktor said, rubbing his hands. He set off, the other five following.
The scenery didn't change much for some time; they could have been on Earth for all they could tell. But just as Viktor was wondering if the Key Cards malfunctioned somehow, a flock of wooly sheep crossed his path, shepherded by a Kithkin man wearing overalls, a straw hat, and a black-and-red checkered shirt.
"Hoy, there!" the Kithkin man hollered to Viktor's group, waving in greeting. "Some day for grazing, huh? Where you all come from?"
"We're travelers," Viktor said. "Is there a town nearby?"
"Euhhh, sort of, yeah," the Kithkin shepherd said, stopping his flock and leaning against his shepherd's crook cane. "My farm's an hour's jaunt that-a-way, and the town's a half-day's ride on wagon from there. You all looking to get to town?"
"We'd like that," Viktor said, nodding. "Is the town friendly toward strangers?"
"You betcha," the shepherd said, nodding. He had a wheat stalk in his mouth, which went up and down as he talked. "We's letting other Kithkin come in all the time, for trading and other stuff. Why, even elves are welcome, long as they don't drag along their Flame-kin enemies to fight with our weapons."
He paused, taking in the group before him. "Say, why don't you all come to my farm. It's been a spot lonely since my wife was taken away, by the damned giants. Believe me, talking to sheep gets old. I need another face. Ehh, what race are you all? You're like them elves, but without the ears and the horns attached."
"We're human, of course," Viktor said.
"What's a human?" the Kithkin asked. "Isn't nothing I've heard of. Y'all hybrids of elves and Kithkin?"
"It's not important," Viktor said. This wasn't worth arguing about.
"Well, okay," the Kithkin said. "So you want to come to my farm for supper t'night? You all can ride my wagon with me into town tomorrow. I've got a bit of grain trading to do."
Viktor considered this, and whispered to the others about it. They agreed, since he could get them to the town faster on wagon than on foot.
"It's set, then," the farmer said, motioning for them to follow. "It's just an hour's jaunt this way. Come along." So, Viktor and the others followed him and his flock, through the meadow and staying away from the forest. Viktor watched the forest, trying to see anything. He didn't see anything definite, but swore he saw an elf dash gracefully from one branch to another in the deep green layers of the woods. And one tree seemed to be moving a bit too much to be an ordinary tree.
"There's a right bit o' Treefolk round these parts," the Kithkin shepherd said, seeing the tree moving. "They want to keep the Flame-kin away, with some of the rare Goldbark saplings around here. Goldbark is pretty rare nowadays, even with us planting some of it in the woods. It sap can be used for a youth elixir, and its bark can be infused with wood shields to make them nigh unbreakable. Why, I've seen a giant chew a Goldbark shield like a dog and not put a crack on it. Really something, huh?"
He chattered on along the way to his farm. Before long, patches of pumpkins, corn, squash, peas, and other crops appeared, bordered by fences. A small farm house loomed ahead, right next to a barn. Its roof eaves were barely six feet off the ground.
"And here we are," the shepherd said, opening the creaky wooden door and going in. The house was clearly built for the minute Kithkin; Viktor and the others had to stoop to get in, and were a little cramped on the inside. But still, it was comfortable, with hay mattresses arranged for guests. An iron stove was put to use by the shepherd to roast a huge chunk of sheep, with its meaty aroma wafting around the whole house. After poking around a bit, Viktor found a collection of giant insect-like wings arranged in a wooden box.
"That there's my faerie wing collection," the shepherd said, stepping up to Viktor and peering in the box. "'Bout thirty faeries' worth in there, maybe. I've got all types in there: Waterzippers, Sun Lancers, Final-Stings, Flit-Witters, and some others."
"Pretty cool," Viktor agreed, setting the box down.
After dusk had fallen and everyone was full of sheep and vegetable food, Viktor went outside to see what the evening had brought. Though the sun in Lorwyn never fully set, it settled close to the horizon and made everything darker and dimmer. He could no longer tell apart the trees in the distance, at least. They were simply a dark green mass. And out of that mass, a mote of glowing gold light drifted.
Viktor squinted, looking to see what it was. A firefly? No, it was too big and going a bit too fast for that. A second light joined the first, and a third and fourth joined the first two. Viktor went to the others, tapping Devin's shoulder. "Hey, look at that," he said. Devin turned and looked, seeing the lights coming closer.
"Are those fireflies?" Devin asked, peering at them. More and more had come out; some of them were gold, but others were electric blue, neon green, and shining silver. The shepherd, to had introduced himself as Grellis, stepped closer, picking something off his boot. "Watcha lookin' at?" he asked.
Viktor pointed at the swarm of lights coming closer, and Grellis' eyes widened. "Again?" he breathed to himself. He dashed into his house and came back with a slide-out telescope. He held the device to his eye, observing the lights. He lowered the instrument and said, "Well, I'll be damned. I thought the last one was it for the season, but I guess this is the last wave." He handed the telescope to a puzzled Viktor, who looked through it.
What he saw surprised him. The lights were actually faeries, of all sizes and colors. They were insect-like, but with humanoid bodies and butterfly qualities to them. Their tiny grinning faces stared ahead at the direction they were going. Their wings were like a dragonfly's, buzzing rapidly like a bee's. In the dim light, their bodies were glowing with bioluminescence, like living neon signs. Even the borders of their wings shone, making fans of color.
Viktor passed the telescope around to the others, letting them see. He asked Grellis, "What is this?"
"The faerie Life Rite," the Kithkin answered. "Every few months, the faerie queen Oona lays thousands of eggs for the new generation, and all other faeries come to celebrate that. Plus, they pollinate all the plants around the queen for several leagues, bringing lush spring to the landscape. The land is covered in flowers and saplings, and other fantastic stuff. It's a sight to behold, the Great Pollination. I've seen it only once, but it's impossible to forget."
By now, the faeries were close enough so the telescope wasn't necessary to see them clearly. Viktor could now hear them, too. Their tiny, high-pitched voices chorused a song of life and spring, a choir of glowing bug-men in the sky. The wave, thousands strong, soon reached Viktor and the others, and hundreds of faeries were flitting around and above him. It was like a massive, glowing tidal wave washing over him, out of some wild dream.
"Wow, this is wonderful!" Ashley glowed, watching the faeries swarm by like dust particles in sunlight. She kept turning slowly, taking in the mass of glowing faeries.
"Pretty nice," Makoto agreed, reaching out to touch a large one. His hand shot forth, and his fingers closed on the faerie's leg. The faerie jerked against its restraints, beating its wings uselessly. Makoto carried the faerie over to Grellis, whose eyes widened at the sight.
"Caught yeself a faerie, lad? There's some quick fingers on you," he praised. "Now, swatting a faerie's mighty impossible, I'll tell you. Might as well pull out a giant's tooth with a hoe. But catching one like that's an omen of good luck for years to come. Let the thing go, now." Makoto complied, releasing his hold on the squealing and squirming faerie. It flexed its body, turned around once in the air, and rejoined its companions. After a few minutes, the crowd of them lessened until only a few stragglers drifted by, then the air was once again quiet and empty. Viktor and the others stayed outside a little longer, then went into Grellis' house for the evening's rest.
When the sun climbed back to its higher place in the morning sky, Viktor and the others enjoyed a breakfast of springjack sausages and eggs with spicy merfolk scales. Grellis tended to his garden for about an hour, then loaded up his wagon and carted the kids to the Kithkin town.
The countryside passed by them as they progressed, with the curving dirt road wandering close to the forest and over a river. Viktor was reminded of county side England, with carriages taking people along the wilderness to the town or city. That illusion was broken, however, by the sight of a massive giants lumbering out of the forest and into the open.
The giant was massive, with his ugly head being over thirty feet in the air. He wore metal battle armor, covering his vast chest and shoulders, stopping at his waist. The armor was rusty and dented, but looked thick enough to resist almost anything. His pants were brown cloth with a ragged leather belt and a buckle four feet wide. He carried a battle-ax over his shoulder, and the metal shined in the bright sun. The handle was a thick as Viktor's body, and had leather straps and crude ornaments on it.
"Aye, there's a big'un," Grellis said, pulling on the horses' reigns to steer them clear of the lumbering monstrosity before them. "Don't want to tangle with him, huh? Giants here don't like mice prancing 'round their feet."
"Just mice," Devin muttered to himself, slightly shaken. Even with the wagon and him on it, they were just nuisances for the giant stomping around. The giant stopped, squinting and sweeping his great gaze around the countryside. A light breeze ruffled his mane of black hair, the thick strands waving like seaweed. He pulled back his lips, revealing gray and chipped teeth. He adjusted his battle-ax, huffed, and stomped forward, passing parallel to the wagon's path, fifty feet away. Viktor could feel the very earth shudder and vibrate with every booted footstep the giant took, and the horses snorted and tossed their manes in nervousness.
"Do you think he might come after us later?" Kelly asked Grellis.
"Probably not," the Kithkin answered, steering the horses back onto the trail now that the giant was out of the way. "Them giants like to snack on morsels like us sometimes, but they like to look for bigger snacks before settling for smaller ones. That's cause if the giant eats one snack, the other runs away. They always want the bigger one. I'm sure there's a juicy tribe of boggarts for him to munch on."
"Better them than us," Viktor agreed. Makoto grinned.
Some time later, when the wagon rolled over a small hill, a sprawling Kithkin town burst into view. It was smaller than a typical town on Earth, but still was impressive, sitting there in the countryside. There was a central building with a tall steeple dominating the rooftops. Many other buildings lay in avenues and alleys, such as blacksmiths, bars, opera houses, and many resident homes. The buildings were built from logs and lumber, with crude masonry for foundations. A large stream cut the town in half, with a bright wooden bridge curving over it and connecting the halves. The whole place radiated a sense of primitive peace and well-being.
"And here we are," Grellis announced, speeding the wagon down the hill and toward the gates. "I haven't been here for a while. Need to get me some sheep feed and horseshoes."
Once Grellis had stationed the wagon and stabled the horses, he pulled out a pipe and lit it. "I'll be catchin' you all in the street in two hours. Why don't you enjoy yourselves here? There's mighty much to see and do. I've got to take care of business here and meet some friends. Later, then." With that, he strode off.
Viktor and the others stood for a second, watching him go. "Well, let's do something," Devin suggested. "Got any ideas?"
The five of them explored the town, seeing the sights and meeting various Kithkin of all kinds. There were merchants, selling all types of wares, including Treefolk wood shields, Merfolk fishing poles, anti-Elemental charms and spells, Giant teeth, Elf Ear candy (they weren't actual elf ears), and all sorts of armor pieces and swords.
Though Viktor and the others weren't interested in buying anything, it was fun to browse the items for sale. Viktor's mind was busy with thoughts of how they were going to find clues to where Elena was, and he knew that they couldn't spend too long in the Kithkin town. After the merchants, they visited with residents of the homes, who were all cheerful and friendly, despite the kids being humans, which the Kithkin had never seen before. There were no humans in Lorwyn.
Finally, as the sun was descending in the bright blue sky, Grellis found the five kids, looking slightly worn.
"Have a good time?" he asked, putting on a straw hat. He sounded like his usual self, but there was underlying tension and worry. Viktor could hear it.
"This town is great," Devin answered. The others nodded.
"That's all and well," Grellis mumbled. His fingers fidgeted with his pipe. "Listen, everyone. I might be asking too much, but…"
"But what?" Viktor asked. "Go on."
"I've got me a favor to ask of you all," Grellis said edgily. "It's an awful lot, but I've got no one else who can do it."
"Well, what do you want us to do?" Kelly asked.
"Well," Grellis said, looking around. "See, this town has been having trouble. The Grek tribe of giants has been stealing from us. Stealing our women, including many wives. They've got a slave trade established, selling them to boggarts and Flame Elementals as servants and worse. My… my own wife has been taken, too, just a few weeks ago. Not even our strongest warriors can get them back."
"Are you asking us to help?" Viktor said.
"You don't really have to," Grellis said shyly.
"We will," Viktor assured him, looking at the others. "We ought to repay you for sheltering us, anyway. We're capable of doing his. We promise we'll do your favor."
"Really?" Grellis said, brightening. "You will? You… you have my thanks! All of you!"
"It's nothing," Viktor said, grinning.