Blind Devotion

by dnd4evr

While on the run from a haunting past, a half-orc warlock finds himself the chance companion of a blind elf doctor. Despite her quirks, he finds great comfort in her company, and the two make fast friends...even if their enemies are never far behind. All original characters that are HIGHLY INSPIRED by the cast of Critical Role.

6. Unexpected Discoveries

Al woke up before anyone else, which surprised him. Gauth, as usual, was dead to the world, and Al was sure if he stepped on the giant man, Gauth wouldn't even notice. However, Jayce turned and shifted in his sleep, his breathing erratic and short. If he was going to wake up, it would be soon.

Al slipped out of his bed, pausing and holding his breath when he noticed the bed squeaked. Jayce again shifted, rolling over to face the wall, but did not wake. Al let out a breath of relief.

Ever so carefully, he stepped over his friend on the floor and moved to Jayce's backpack. He had never been a patient sort, and he was far too curious for his own good; a dangerous combination that had caused him pain in the past, but not enough pain to know better. Softly and silently, Al undid the belting that kept the backpack closed, and paused to check if Jayce was still asleep. Satisfied, he gently flipped the top cover open and peered inside.

On top was a book called The Black Wings at Dawn, which, according to the inside cover, was a historical fiction about the ascension of the Raven Queen, the Mistress of the Crossroads, She Who Presides over the Bridge of Life and Death. Al grimaced at the several lines of titles. It seemed like a dry book, but as Al literally watched Jayce read it for at least an hour, it must be some sort of page turner.

Too curious to leave it alone, Al flipped open the book to the current bookmarked page and was surprised to find a scrap of red silk. It was old, worn, and fraying at the edges, but it was soft and smooth. It must have come from something expensive, once upon a time.

He closed the book and put it back. It wasn't a disguised journal. He continued looking.

Al was surprised to find climbing gear, including a hammer and pitons, and two different kinds of rope, but the real find was a final healing potion Jayce had stored in an inner pocket. Al was glad to know that, among them, they had at least one, and while he was tempted...actually, he decided to keep it anyway. He'd probably need it more, as Jayce was always with Dahlia and she was the one with the actual healing magic. Besides, Gauth was right when he described Al as "squishy". Al was the type to end a fight before it even started, rather than finish one, as usually, he could never finish one.

Finally, he found an actual journal. Elated, he flipped it open and scoured the pages...and it was full of half-finished comments, doodles of fish and birds, simple math, and one entertaining but simplified drawing of some man in a familiar coat tripping on dead fish. Al was disappointed, but what irked him was now he had even more questions, rather than any tangible answers. Of course Jayce was one of those people who couldn't properly keep a journal.

Al flipped to the last pages, hoping to find something useful, when he stumbled across a hastily drawn sketch of some dark shape with glowing eyes, with tangled tendrils extending to the very edge of the page. A single word, "WHY?", was written at the bottom in a frantic hand. Even more disturbing was a trail of blood, which, from the size of the dried drops and their location on the page, made Al believe they had come from a nosebleed, when the picture was drawn.

Was this Jayce's demon?

Al closed the journal and slipped it back into the bag, deciding it was high time to speak to Dahlia. If she was anything like his mother, then she would already be wide awake and just waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. Al grabbed his boots and made his way to the door, flinching when the floor creaked beneath him.

He paused, glancing over his shoulder. Jayce, again, shifted in his sleep, and grumbled incoherently as he gripped his quilt close to his neck. Gauth, unsurprisingly, hadn't even stirred, sleeping deeply and quietly.

As silently as a shadow, Al stepped into the hall, closed the door behind him, and slipped on his boots. Now free to move about, Al looked up and down the hallway, noting the number of doors to either side, and he tried to recall Dahlia's room.

Which number was that again?

xXxXx

Dahlia tied up her hair in a bun and used the ring's power on the pillowcase she had used to dry her hair. She knew from experience that the cleaning enchantment would remove even stains, but it still caused a pang of worry. As infinitesimally small as the chance might be, there was always the risk the spell would not take.

She slipped her gloves back on, pulled on her coat, replaced her belt, and donned her blindfold once more. She hesitated, her hands on the hem of her hood, then she pulled it up anyway. Better safe than sorry.

A knock jolted her out of her thoughts and sent a shiver shooting up her spine. She tapped at her blindfold, tugged her gloves and sleeves, and pulled one more time at her hood before she called out, asking who was at the door.

"Just me," a familiar voice called through the door. Even with the distortion caused by the wooden door between her and the culprit, Dahlia recognized Al's voice.

"Al? It's early; what are you doing up?" Dahlia called, hastily stuffing the pillow back into the pillowcase. She just needed to reset the room as much as she could before he stepped in so there wouldn't be any awkward questions. Or at least fewer awkward questions.

"Can we talk?" Al called softly through the door. She paused to parse through his tone. Was he upset? Concerned? It was probably about her reaction yesterday. Or questions about her purchase. Gods above, was he here to ask her to leave? Not that she'd blame him; she couldn't be the easiest travel companion to deal with...but where would she go? What would she do? Caril said the Dawnfather was barely tolerated these days, so the Temple Ward probably wouldn't even be safe for her. For crying out loud, the last time she was in Westruun, it was nearly two decades ago. So much of the city must have changed!

"Dahlia?"

She returned to reality and quickly refluffed the pillow. "Sorry, lost in thought. You want to talk?"

"Yeah. Can I come in?"

Dahlia did one last check of her clothes. Everything was in order, so she turned to the door.

"Yes, you may."

Al opened the door and stepped inside, and the thup sound of his soft leather heels was surprisingly hard to hear as he walked right over to the bed and sat down, not even bothering to close the door. With a sigh, Dahlia stepped past him and closed it for him.

"So, good morning," Al sighed, his voice muffled as he rubbed a hand over his face. "I wanted to talk about...a lot of… Were you drinking?"

Dahlia winced, hearing his sniffing from across the room. Of course it would smell for a few hours.

"I had a bottle of wine from Kymal that I decided to finish," she said, turning to Al. "As I normally expect my companions to wake several hours after I do, I thought I had time to go through it without concern for my work performance."

There was a pause, and she assumed Al shrugged. "To each their own, I guess. I just figured it was a bit early to get sloshed, but, hey, if I had a curse like yours, I'd probably try drowning it at least once."

"I wish I could say it worked…" Dahlia sighed. "If only it was that easy. But you wanted to talk, so, please, continue."

"Right," Al huffed, and again there was a pause. Dahlia knew there was a chair in the room somewhere, but in her haze last night, she was unable to find it. While waiting for Al to continue, she let out a short, relatively quiet, and shrill whistle that immediately bounced back to her, giving her a rough shape of the room. She could hear Al yelp in surprise as she walked over to the shape she assumed was the chair.

"What the hell was that?!" Al squeaked, obviously startled.

"If you recall yesterday, I was speaking to you about the benefits of echolocation," Dahlia explained, sitting down on the chair. "That is the particular tone I use to utilize the skill. I couldn't remember where the chair was and so I used a short burst of sound to find it. That's all."

Al let out a low whistle. "I should get to work practicing that. I bet that's amazingly useful in pitch black darkness-"

"Yes, as that is literally my entire life right now, it's very useful in the dark!" Dahlia snapped, but then flexed her hands as she winced away. "Sorry. I'm sorry. That was...inappropriate. Yes, it's useful. It takes practice, of course, but it tends to work best around hard surfaces, as they reflect more sound than soft ones."

"You…" Al began, sounding as if he was trying to come up with something to say that wouldn't set her off. "...seem tense. Are you alright?"

Dahlia briefly hung her head and took a breath to steady herself. She wished he would just come out and say he wanted her to leave. She was tempted to beat him to it. "I am tense, which is an unfortunate side effect of some of my attacks. It's either this or exhaustion. I'm not sure which one I prefer."

"That's...rough," Al said, attempting to sound sympathetic. "Um, speaking of, about last night-"

"I'm sorry I nearly hit you, and I shouldn't have extended my reach. I know that was wrong, and I'll-"

"Whoa!" Al sounded as if he nearly jumped out of his seat. "That's not the issue here! Look, I came to say I was sorry for lashing out at you. I didn't realize it would trigger your curse, and it's not like you can see where you're going. I was a jerk, and I'm sorry."

Dahlia faced Al, and she knew her confusion was clear on her face, even with half of it covered. Al didn't seem like the type to apologize.

"That's… Thank you. I don't think you're a jerk, and I forgive you. I...tend to act…" Dahlia fidgeted with the hem of her glove as she mulled over the words.

"Giddy?"

Dahlia nodded gravely. "When I hear music. It's…" she trailed off, hoping her explanation would make sense to him. "It's one of the few ways I can see, or remember what it was like to see. If that even makes sense."

There was a pause. Was Al nodding, or shaking his head, or looking confused? She couldn't know.

"I get it," Al finally said, softly and quietly as he settled back down on the bed. "I've lost something...someone, and there are certain songs he used to hum when he was working. When I hear them, it's almost like he's nearby."

Why was Al being so open with her? She couldn't make sense of it.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Dahlia said, hoping she sounded as genuine as she felt. "I hope your memories are precious and clear."

Al huffed in amusement. "Haven't heard that one before…but thank you. Anyway, what I came to ask."

Finally! Dahlia thought to herself. Just one little sentence and she'd leave. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone, especially Jayce. He'd done so much for her, and for so little in return.

"Is Jayce gay?"

Dahlia went stiff in shock. She wasn't expecting that at all.

"... I'm not sure. He might be. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, you know," Al laughed nervously, trying to hide his true intentions. "Just a thing or two he's said, or, well, how he deals with you. I don't know if you've noticed, but you'd probably clean up well, and he doesn't even look at you twice, so… Just wondering."

Dahlia couldn't help but smirk to herself. She could almost hear him blushing. Al was having a terrible time trying to lie about this curiosity of his.

"Honestly," Dahlia shrugged, "the first night we met, he assumed, incorrectly, that I was attempting to seduce him when in truth I wanted to work some tension out of his hand as thanks for his kindness. I had thought he was gay because of how quickly he rebuffed the notion, but the very next day, he described a woman with very affectionate terms. And that's after yet another incident that made me question his particular alignment." Dahlia couldn't remember the entire confrontation in Bari's Bulk Goods, but what she did hear was pretty revealing. "I can't tell you what he prefers, as I have no idea myself. Perhaps he goes both ways. Whatever the case, if you'd like me to put in a good word for you, I can try," Dahlia smiled. "On the chance he'd be interested, of course."

"You don't need to do that!" Al said, far too quickly for his own good, and Dahlia was amused with the image of a flustered Al waving his arms in panic. "It's not like I'm attracted to him or anything! We share a room, that's all, and I don't want someone watching me hungrily while I sleep or-"

"Al, it's okay," Dahlia said gently, her voice taking on a soft and motherly tone. "I'm the last person to have any say in who someone should and should not love. If you ever decide you'd like me to put in a good word, just let me know. Or, better yet, whistle three notes three times, and you won't even have to say anything."

The room was briefly quiet as Al thought over the offer. Dahlia felt a strange sort of ease, knowing something so simple could be so helpful for someone she knew.

"I guess there's no point hiding it. I don't even know why I find him that attractive," Al sighed. "He's… I know it's wrong, but I can't seem to help myself."

Dahlia tilted her head curiously. "Why is it wrong? It's no secret Jayce is attractive; I've literally heard him trade a kiss for a discount, per the shopkeeper's request."

Al let out a strained chuckle. "Surely you've heard all the usual reasons. You can't have children, it's unnatural, it's… I don't know, just wrong, apparently."

Dahlia shrugged. "If it feels good, it isn't hurting anyone, and you're both enjoying the relationship, why is it wrong?"

Al sighed. "You're one of a kind, Dahlia. I'm just going to say it now then; Yes, please put in a good word for me. He's...not my usual type, but something about him just… Gods, he's one hell of a handsome man."

"I'll never understand that," Dahlia sighed, shaking her head.

"Never understand what?"

"Lust," she said with a shrug. "Perhaps it's in part because I can't see, but even when I had my sight, I never understood the leap from 'you're attractive' to 'I want to have sex with you.' It doesn't make any sense to me."

There was a pause that stretched far longer than Dahlia was comfortable with, and she began fidgeting with the hem of her glove again.

"You're saying you've never come across any man, or woman, you've wanted to bed?" Al said with a quiet awe of disbelief.

"That's the long and short of it. I don't see the point of having sex with someone just because they're attractive. Or, now that I'm thinking about it, having sex at all."

"Please tell me this is because you're a virgin," Al gasped, the shock evident in his voice.

If Dahlia could shoot Al a glare, she would have. In fact, she tried, despite knowing her blindfold completely prevented any intimidating effect. "My sexual history is none of your concern."

"It's- It's just that… It's so fun!" Al said, his tone rising as he leaned toward her. "It feels incredible, and-"

"Can you please stop!" Dahlia snapped, her hands tense and partly blocking her face as she turned away. "I don't want to talk about this. You've asked your questions, and I've given you answers. If you don't have any more, I'd like some time alone to pray."

"Okay, okay!" Al huffed, settling back on the bed. "I wanted to ask about you, too. Your history, where you came from, that kind of thing."

Dahlia crossed her arms. "I finished medical school, went blind, traveled with a few mercenary bands, eventually ended up in Kymal, met Jayce, met you. There."

There was another pause as Al tried to process the information. "That...tells me almost nothing."

"Well, you've asked me to put in a good word, and I know almost nothing about you," Dahlia huffed. "So honestly, you should be telling me what I should be passing on to Jayce, rather than asking me for a history I don't want to give."

"Fair enough…" Al grunted under his breath, obviously frustrated. "Well, I was born in Syngorn, and I'm well versed in elven noble society and customs. I originally trained as an acrobat, more to help me learn social graces than perform, but the training courses I had access to were somewhat...limiting. I ended up carousing the city, and eventually learned how to break into places I shouldn't, more for curiosity's sake than anything else, really."

"So you're a voyeur," Dahlia smirked.

"Wha-?! No! Nothing as perverted as that!" Al said in a flustered panic, causing Dahlia to snicker. "But I will say I came across secrets that were not meant for the light of day, and… I'd probably incriminate myself if I said anything else, so let's leave it there. Life goes on, and nowadays, I'm an adventuring rogue."

"Well," Dahlia mused, tapping her fingers together, "I think I can use the acrobatic point. If you think of anything else, let me know. I don't think Jayce will be too impressed with social graces, but flexibility might be a different story."

From the way Al cringed, she could almost hear him blush again. She was amused.

"Right, well I'll leave you be!" Al said quickly, practically bounding from the bed and heading to the door. "Remember, we never had this conversation!"

"Of course," Dahlia smiled, giving Al a small wave as she heard the door open...and not close. With another sigh, she got up and closed the door herself, and silently wondered when everyone else would be up and finally be ready for breakfast.

xXxXx

Jayce's eyes snapped open, the urge to scream dying in his throat from pure habit rather than force of will. He slowly sat up, taking in his surroundings. Gauth was still sleeping on the floor, and Al was missing. No surprise there. Jayce checked the Pouch of Infinite Wealth he had tucked into his shirt, and it was still there, nestled against his stomach. He sighed in relief. Even after a week of travel, he still didn't trust Al enough to leave the party funds in any place the thief might find them.

Wait, rogue. He preferred rogue.

Jayce rolled his eyes at the thought and rubbed his face to help wake himself up. Another day, another nightmare. They were getting old. Ever since that shipwreck, they had been constant, hardly giving him any rest. He missed having a full night's sleep.

He yawned from the thought and pulled himself out of the bed, being careful to avoid stepping on the goliath who was taking up most of the floor. Slowly but deliberately, he reset his clothes and pulled on his boots, but hesitated before pulling on his armor. If they were going to stay in town, he may not need it...but then again, there was always the threat of attack, especially for someone like himself.

With a heavy sigh, Jayce began to pull it on. It wasn't the most comfortable of garments, but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.

By the time he finished, Gauth was just getting up, and Jayce had moved to the door for a little extra space to pull his backpack back on.

"Good morning," Gauth yawned, stretching his formidable reach nearly across the room.

"Good-"

The door whipped open, slamming into Jayce's shoulder hard enough to sting but not enough to bruise. If he hadn't been wearing his armor, the doorknob would have been rather unkind to his spine.

"Fuck! What the hell?!" Jayce yelped, stumbling forward from the force. He whipped around to find literally no one at the door, so he ducked out into the hallway to check both left and right. The hall was empty.

Gauth looked on with quiet amusement.

"Please tell me you saw who that was," Jayce hissed, picking his backpack back up from the floor.

Gauth stood up with a soft chuckle. "Al, in his usual haste, was not careful in how he opened the door. He's probably embarrassed and so ran off, like he always does."

"He always make a habit of attackin' people with doors?" Jayce grumbled, stretching his back to help mitigate the sting.

Gauth mulled it over for a minute while rolling up his bedroll and packing up his things. "Not always, but on days when he has been awake for some time before the rest of us, we were given a rude awakening with a loud cry for breakfast."

Jayce sighed. "So this is normal?"

Gauth smiled and nodded, shouldering his own pack. Of course, with his minimalist lifestyle, it didn't take much for him to prepare for the day.

"Knock knock," said a chipper Al as he poked his head in the doorway. "Why's the door open?"

Both Jayce and Gauth turned to him with a look of complete disbelief that he would even try to pass the blame. Al immediately wilted under the scrutiny.

"I'll meet you downstairs," Jayce growled, almost shoving his way past the half-elf. What a way to start the day.

As he was about to pass, Jayce came to a stop outside Dahlia's door. She was probably up by now, but who knows what kind of mood she was in after yesterday. Did he dare knock? Or should he let her sleep? Then he realized she might skip a meal again, and it would be better to keep her company to breakfast. He rapped his knuckle against the door.

"Who's there?" she called, her voice vibrant and strong. She was definitely awake.

"It's Jayce, ma'am," he called back. "We're headin' down t' breakfast and I was hopin' you'd join us."

The door immediately opened, and Dahlia was standing there, her bag already over her shoulder and ready to go.

"Sorry again about-" she began, gripping her own arms.

"Now don't you start," Jayce said with a kind smile. "I'm well aware that ain't you durin' those moments. Today's new, so let's treat it like it is and move on."

Dahlia just nodded and stepped out into the hallway, and Jayce pulled out the key to her room to lock it behind her. As he finished, Gauth and Al had also stepped into the hallway, although Al was still pulling on his thin overcoat and cloak, so Gauth had to carry his bag.

"Good morning," Gauth said with a cheery smile. Dahlia wasn't sure it was directed at her, but she turned toward him and smiled anyway, just in case.

"So, what's the plan for breakfast?" Al asked, more absentmindedly than if he was expecting an answer. He seemed too preoccupied with getting his cloak to settle just right to actually listen to a reply.

"I figured we'd just eat downstairs," Jayce said, taking Dahlia's arm and leading her to the tavern below. His companions followed. "Then, we should probably look for work, or find a bookstore or somethin'."

"Why a bookstore?" Gauth asked, falling into step behind the group. He was a bit large to walk beside them in the small hallway.

"We should find a primer or somethin' simple to help teach ya to read," Jayce smiled. "Promise is a promise, and all that."

Gauth looked shocked. "That is...faster than I expected."

"Well, we gotta get ya to a point where you can read a map. I wouldn't mind delegatin' that out," Jayce said with an awkward chuckle.

"At least until we find a puddle," Al teased.

Dahlia couldn't help a small giggle as Jayce made it clear he didn't think that comment was funny. Thankfully, they had reached the ground floor and Jayce stepped away to order breakfast for the four of them, and actually made the purchase from "party funds". Al was miffed, but kept it to himself.

xXxXx

A short time later, the group exited an herbalist's shop, having completed their purchase. Al carried a rather significant bag of materials while Dahlia shifted various medicines and herbs around in her hip bag.

"Thanks again for carrying that, Al," she smiled, looking toward him as they walked. "It's nice knowing I can rely on you for an extra hand."

"Oh it's no trouble," Al beamed. "Think of it as a thank you in advance for the potions you're going to make!"

"Yeah, four of 'em," Jayce mumbled, subtracting a hundred gold from the party funds in his journal. He was embarrassed as Dahlia had to request her share, from Kymal, while inside the shop to replenish her medicine stores. He had forgotten to hand it over for nearly a week and his face still felt hot. To her credit, the request was a whispered one, and so Al and Gauth were, hopefully, unaware.

He had also noticed Dahlia and Al were trading compliments quite frequently this morning, to the point that even Gauth was giving them the side eye. Just what exactly was going on between them, and why did he feel put off by it?

"So, what's next?" Jayce said, snapping his journal shut and slipping it back in his bag. "Look for work, or find a bookshop?"

"I would like to find a bookshop," Gauth smiled, unable to hide his excitement. He'd finally learn to read! He knew the world would open up to him in ways he could only barely fathom; if people like Yosxim and Dahlia became as smart as they were just by reading, the world wouldn't be able to stop him.

Al shrugged. "I don't mind. I could probably do with some reading material."

"Then we'll check out a bookshop," Jayce smiled. "There's gotta be at least one in the Market Ward, right?"

"That's the beauty of the Market Ward," Al said, glancing around as they walked. "If you can't find it here, it might not even exist."

"Dahlia," Gauth said, taking his place behind the group as usual, "if you could still see, what kind of book would you get?"

"Probably a reference book, of the newest edition available," Dahlia replied, shifting her bag back into place.

"You wouldn't get something fun to read?" Al asked, looking unsure as to if he should hand over the large bag of potion materials now that her hands were free.

"I don't have the time. Why should I read something for the sheer purpose of entertainment when medicine and science are constantly advancing? By keeping up to date on the latest practices, I can more effectively keep you safe or offer the best practices for healing."

"And while I appreciate that, do you even know what you'd want to read? For fun?" Al said, silently resigning himself to continue carrying the bag.

"I bet it's somethin' sappy like a love story," Jayce teased.

"Oh gods no," Dahlia huffed. "Love barely makes sense to me. If I had to choose, I'd pick a mystery with epic battles and history altering consequences. Something mind bending, that made me think. Or a story where I could have the 'ah-ha!' moment, of deciphering the puzzle or parsing the clues."

Jayce was rather surprised, as those were the kinds of books he liked to read. He thought women preferred romance novels.

Dahlia sighed. "But, considering I can't read, and won't have the time-"

"Bullcrap. You and Jayce will be teaching Gauth to read; we'll have plenty of time to read while we're walking on the road," Al smirked. "Better yet, if we get horses, or a cart, they can do the walking for us and we can just sit back and relax."

Gauth gave a slow nod of realization. "That's why Yosxim was always trying to buy a cart."

"Exactly. Problem was, he was absolutely terrible with horses!" Al laughed. "None of them wanted to get within five feet of him!"

"He shouldn't have expected better. He kept calling them 'dirty con-vyving animals'." Gauth huffed.

"Conniving," Dahlia cut in gently.

Gauth missed the correction. "Horses understand what you say more than people realize. Especially these city folk."

"Ain't surprised," Jayce chuckled nervously. He wasn't exactly a fan of the big beasts of burden, especially since he had once been involved with shipping a small herd of them across the Osmit Sea. Those creatures did not appreciate a confined space.

"Anyway, back to the books, if one of us got a book for you and read it out loud, would you listen?" Al smirked, a slight tease audible in his voice.

"If I was interested in that sort of thing, I'd probably ask Jayce to read it," Dahlia huffed.

Jayce nearly tripped over his own feet from the shock, but recovered quickly.

"Oh? Why?" Al asked, genuinely curious.

"Because he can do voices," Dahlia said, as if it was the obvious answer. "He has a talent for mimicking voices that can fool even me, and it would add a depth to the story that's hard to emulate in your own thoughts. Or at the very least, mine."

"You can mimic voices?" Al asked, incredulous. He quickened his pace to fall into step right next to Jayce. "Prove it! Can you do women's voices, or just male ones? What about bird calls?"

Jayce huffed in annoyance. He didn't like being put on the spot, so he turned to Al, and in Al's voice, replied, "I can mimic any sound I've heard, so yes, that includes bird calls."

Al's eyes widened in boyish awe. "Wow… And just to confirm, that includes women's voices?"

Jayce rolled his eyes and, in Dahlia's voice, added, "Of course. It's just a matter of speaking from the head rather than the chest."

Gauth and Al stared in astonishment. Jayce had just spoken in Dahlia's voice, as if she was throwing her voice into his throat. Dahlia smirked, although she was a little unnerved; as she used voices to determine who was talking, Jayce's talent had a way of throwing her off balance, and she did her best to hide it.

"...That's it. I'm grabbing a book for you to read to all of us on the road," Al said, barely able to raise his voice to a comfortable volume from the sheer shock of Jayce's talent.

Jayce sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He knew where this was going. "Must you?"

"It's either that, or you let us hire a bard," Al huffed, returning his eyes to the shops around them. "Think of it as practice, to keep your talent sharp and impressive."

"Every fuckin' time…" Jayce mumbled to himself, rubbing a hand across his face in frustration.

"And there's a bookshop! Fortune provides!" Al beamed, pointing. Across the street from where they stood, a bright, open-book-shaped sign was gently swinging in the brisk autumn breeze. Emblazoned across it in gilded letters were the words "Flights of Fancy" and the shop windows below it were nearly completely clogged with stacks of books.

"Huh. Looks like exactly what we were lookin' for," Jayce smiled. He turned to Dahlia and tapped her arm, above her elbow. "It's called 'Flights of Fancy', and it looks like it's stuffed to the brim with books."

"Then we should be able to find what we're looking for," Dahlia smiled. She lifted her arm slightly to indicate she was ready for Jayce to take it.

"Just to be clear, it's a primer for Gauth, and something for you to read on the road, right?" Al asked, trying to figure out a way to foist the bag on someone else. He wanted his hands free for a possible quick grab of a book, especially if he found something that could be potentially embarrassing for Jayce to read out loud. That could be fun.

"If we only find the primer, that's good too," Jayce grumbled.

"Besides, if we do find a book for entertainment, it's only fair if we take turns. Every chapter, we'll switch. Gauth can use it for practice, Al can attempt to mimic Jayce's mimicry, and I'll try to determine the next logical step in the story from the previous chapters, and you all can tell me if I was right."

The men thought it over, and Jayce gave a slow nod. "Okay, that might actually be kinda fun."

"And it's an interesting mental exercise for me," Dahlia smiled.

A small bell over the door to the shop rang cheerily as they all stepped inside, although Gauth only poked his head in before deciding he would rather stay on the street. The shelves in the store were absolutely stuffed with books, and the spaces between the shelves were barely enough for two people to pass while sideways.

Finally seeing an opportunity, Al tossed the bag to Gauth and slipped away behind one of the shelves by the door. He quickly scanned the titles while making his way to the back of the store, where the more interesting books were usually held.

Dahlia did hear Al step away, but kept it to herself. She was more concerned about moving through the shop without hitting anybody, and so stepped behind Jayce. They both silently agreed that her hand on the back of his shoulder would be a better way to get through the shop.

"Gonna have to squeeze t' the right, Dahlia. Gotta pass someone here," Jayce mumbled, twisting to slide past a young man in a hood pawing through the clearly labeled Arcana section.

Dahlia steeled herself and twisted sideways as well, keeping her hand solidly on Jayce's shoulder as she sidestepped through the small aisle. As she passed the young man, she unconsciously got a whiff of a familiar, stale smell. She nearly lost her hand on Jayce as she realized what that smell was; the young man they were passing had not eaten in at least a day, if not several, and his breath was rank from the lack of food. He was panting, his breath shallow and quick, and Dahlia quickly determined he was likely also suffering from dehydration.

Despite her reservations, she let her hand slip from Jayce's back. She had to do something. She pulled out her canteen, quickly drank almost a third of it, and then added a thick pinch of salt from a special wooden container in her bag. Moving slowly to avoid a mess, Dahlia pulled out a jar of honey, unsealed it, and began pouring most of it into the spiked canteen. She counted the seconds, listening intently for the whistle of air past the mouth to rise enough in pitch to tell her it was nearly full.

The man, hearing the jostling behind him, turned to see a blindfolded woman in a bookshop, which was odd enough in itself, nestling a canteen in the crux of her arm as she resealed a jar of something yellow. Too curious to move on, he watched as she replaced the jar in her bag, closed the canteen, shook it vigorously, and then, without any obvious reason, held it out to him.

"Here," Dahlia said quietly, but with a smile, "this will help you. I don't know when you'll get food again, but this should give you enough to see you through the day."

Her smile was kind, but the man had suffered betrayal before. He recoiled, mumbled something resembling thanks, and tried to leave through the small aisle, back toward the door of the shop.

"Wait!" she called, catching herself from lunging at him. "It's honey, water, and salt. It's not food, but it will help your body until you can get food. Please, just take it. I don't need it back."

The man paused. Something about her voice struck a chord with him. Would she try to hold this over him as a debt unpaid? How could she? With the blindfold, and his intentional attempt to avoid speaking, how could she identify him? But then again, how did she know he was starving?

Honey, water, and salt. Three days ago, it wouldn't have sounded appetizing, but now he was so desperate he was willing to try it. He snatched the canteen from her hand, turned to leave, but then paused.

"My name is Jonathan," he whispered.

Dahlia smiled. "And I'm-"

"Dahlia?!"

Jayce had gone nearly three aisles down before he noticed Dahlia wasn't with him anymore. Inwardly terrified she was having another episode, he quickly retraced his steps to find her standing in front of the Arcana section, almost as if she was browsing the titles.

"What happened?" he asked, stepping over to her. "I thought you were followin' me."

"I was," she sighed, her head tilting downward. "We passed a young man who needed help, and I tried… I hope he finds what he needs. And… I may need a new canteen."

Dahlia chuckled awkwardly as Jayce rolled his eyes. He couldn't help but smile. It was absolutely no surprise to him that she would give up her own gear to help someone else.

"What'd you do?" he asked, crossing his arms in mock intimidation.

"Well…" Dahlia trailed off, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "I may have clued into the fact that the man we passed hadn't eaten in a few days, and was probably suffering from dehydration, so… I used some honey and salt to mix up a revitalizing solution in my canteen and let him have it."

Jayce raised an eyebrow. "And you just gave it to him?"

She nodded. "Yep."

"For…?" he asked, waiting for her to fill in the blanks.

"Nothing," Dahlia mumbled, her face falling toward the floor again.

How badly he wanted to touch her face, to raise her chin, to meet her eyes...but even without the blindfold, it would mean nothing as she couldn't see him. He gripped his arms a little more solidly and just nodded instead.

"Uh-huh. So some man's runnin' around with a free canteen full of honey 'n salt?"

"And water. Seven parts honey, a palm of salt, and two-thirds a canteen of water is a solution designed to help revitalize a body that has been suffering from dehydration and nutrient loss."

Dahlia did match his gaze, but of course it was unseen by her.

"It sounds...hard to swallow," Jayce grunted, inwardly wondering just how sweet that concoction would be.

Dahlia shrugged. "It's not that bad. The salt helps balance out the sweet, but it's not something I'd order at a tavern."

"Seriously, Dahlia," Jayce chuckled to himself, "I should'a just left ya outside. What're you gonna do in a bookshop anyway?"

"Ask about books, obviously!" Dahlia pouted, even sticking her tongue out at him. Jayce fought the urge to burst out laughing at the sight.

She crossed her arms and huffed, apparently picking up on Jayce's mirth. "Al got me thinking about what I'd like to read, and now I'm curious if there are new medical journals out. Believe it or not, I do care about keeping you dorks alive!"

"Oh we're dorks now?" Jayce had to turn away and pinch the bridge of his nose to keep himself from laughing out loud.

"Yes, you are! And I'm going to make you read them to me for being a teasing jerk!" Dahlia said, fighting hard to keep a smile from her voice as she weakly slapped at his arm. "You wouldn't believe how dry those things can get."

"I bet a buncha different voices'll fix that right up," Jayce chuckled.

"Don't you freaking dare!"

A human woman with unruly black hair and a small pince-nez on her nose poked her head around the shelves to see Jayce barely containing his laughter as Dahlia ineffectively shoved at him. She resettled the glasses, utterly surprised to see a well-dressed half-orc in a bookshop.

"May I help you?" she cut in, stepping into view. From her cloth apron with book binding tools in the chest pocket and the multi-compartment coin pouch on her hip, it was obvious she owned the shop.

Jayce cleared his throat and attempted to suppress his laughter. "Yes, ma'am. We're lookin' t' teach a friend of ours to read, so we'd like a primer or two."

"And I'd like to know what year is your most current edition of any medical journals you might have in stock, please," Dahlia added.

The woman's eyebrows lifted in surprise, glancing between these curious characters. "Excuse me, ma'am, but are you injured? Or is the journal for someone else?"

"It's for me," Dahlia said with a sigh. "You're correct in assuming I can't read it for myself. However, my companion can see perfectly well and can read a plethora of languages, so he will act as a translator of sorts for me."

Again, the woman looked between these two strange customers. "He can read a 'plethora' of languages?" she asked in disbelief.

"I'm a kinda literal polyglot, ma'am," Jayce smiled politely, letting the comment slide. "Although I gotta admit, I ain't sure that includes medical jargon, but I'm willin' t' give it a try."

The woman paused, pulling out a charcoal pen and fiddling with it as she mulled over their requests. "I'll have to look for the journals, but the primers are near the front of the shop. It's in the section marked 'education'."

"Thank ya kindly, ma'am," Jayce said, miming a tip of the hat. "We'll take a peek and wait for ya there."

The woman nodded and stepped away, grumbling something that made Dahlia huff from the insult.

"Really, Jayce, what is it about you that makes people assume the worst?" she said as Jayce sidled past her.

Even though he knew Dahlia couldn't see him, he still shrugged. "Just one of those faces…" he grumbled.

Thankfully, the section in question was barely half an aisle away, clearly labeled, and had a plethora of primers to choose from. Most of them were aimed toward children, and as such were brightly colored and contained simple wood stamp pictures. Jayce pulled one from the shelf and flipped through it.

"Dahlia, check this out; 'ABCs for Adventurers'!" he giggled.

"Are you serious?" Dahlia said, turning toward him. "What does it even say?"

Jayce turned back to the first page and read aloud. "A is for Archer, a man with a bow. He tracks animals, through dirt, grass, and snow. B is for Bard, a singer by trade. They know the rumors, and try to get laid."

Jayce couldn't help himself and nearly burst out laughing at hearing the line out loud. Dahlia did the same, covering her mouth with both hands.

"That's it. We're gettin' this one," he whispered, trying to stop his giggles.

"I'm concerned it won't actually teach him anything useful," Dahlia said quietly, biting back a smile. "It sounds like a joke."

"Oh come on, comedy'll help him remember!" Jayce smiled, tapping the book against his palm. "Besides, A n' B sound true so far."

Dahlia managed to reign in her mirth and crossed her arms, only managing to look mostly serious. "I thought the preferred term for a tracker of beasts was 'ranger', not 'archer'."

Jayce rolled his eyes, but had to admit that was true. "Alright, alright, we'll make sure to gently correct 'im. The whole point's to show him how letters work, right? This'll do that, and with words he's probably heard of before."

"I'm pretty sure he's heard of apples, bowls, and crates, Jayce," Dahlia said sternly...but still with a smile. Jayce could tell he nearly had her convinced.

"Ya really think that'll keep his attention?" Jayce smirked. "He's a mighty warrior! He ain't a kid. We gotta get somethin' like this or he'll be so bored he'll never learn t' read."

Dahlia threw up her hands in defeat, her face still fighting to keep a smile at bay. "Alright! Fine. You win. We'll get that one."

Jayce celebrated his win with an appropriately silent fist pump and quickly scanned the shelf for anything else that might be considered useful. Finding nothing, he looked up just in time to see the owner of the shop making her way toward them, with three roughly bound books in her arms. Jayce nodded toward her with a smile to confirm she had been noticed, and she seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"I have three journals," she said quietly, as the mood of the shop required. "The most recent one is from last year, and the other two are from different seasons of 862."

Dahlia crinkled her nose at the number. "That's three years ago… Thank you, but I think we'll just take the one from last year. How much do we owe you for the journal and the primer?"

"Well, the primer's just a gippy…" the woman said as she shifted the appropriate journal to her hand to hold it out to Jayce. "The journal's a bit more expensive."

"Six copper sound fair?" Jayce asked with a kind smile as he took the journal. The woman shuddered as she watched his strange, slitted eyes focus on her.

She looked between the two of them. A surprisingly cultured half-orc and a blind woman interested in medicine. If stranger things had walked into her shop, she couldn't remember any.

"Eh, it's close enough," she sighed, holding out her hand for the change. Once Jayce placed a silver in her palm, she exchanged it for four copper pieces from the correct compartment on her hip.

"Have a good day," she said, standing there expectantly. Jayce returned the sentiment and then realized she was waiting for them to leave the shop. He had seen this behavior before. His jaw went tight, but he reminded himself not to assume and turned to leave the bookstore, taking Dahlia gently by the arm as he passed.

"What about a book to read on the road?" she asked as Jayce led her outside.

"I made the mistake of payin' before askin'," Jayce growled under his breath as they exited the shop. He must not assume, despite how many examples he had seen of this behavior in the past. Even if it felt extremely obvious that the shop owner was blaming him for his race. Again. A kind smile can only get him so far, especially when dressed up in green skin and yellow eyes.

"Then it's a good thing I grabbed something!" Al practically sang from the walkway next to the door.

Jayce, startled out of his inner fuming, turned to the half-elf in surprise. "When did you get in the shop?!"

"Just after you," Al laughed, holding up two books. Dahlia quietly confirmed she had heard him enter just behind her as he continued. "I got us some options. This one sounded pretty interesting, called The Adventures of Taryon Darrington, which, according to the inside of the novel, contains some lesser known adventures of the heroes that saved Tal'Dorei some five decades ago, as well as adventures of a band of misfits led by the book's namesake. The second book I grabbed is in case this one gets boring, but it's more for myself."

Gauth had pawed through the book while he and Al had been waiting for their friends to emerge from the shop, and while he couldn't read, he could easily recognize the title page's illustration of a man and woman embraced in the throws of passion. He didn't know what Al had planned (and it was obvious to him that Al had something planned), but he was quietly amused.

"Sounds interesting," Jayce smirked, crossing his arms. "Thing is, I got a pretty distinct feelin' ya got a 'discount' on the merchandise."

"So steep, it was practically free!" Al laughed, slapping the books together and slipping them into his bag under his cloak.

Dahlia winced and grimaced. She didn't like the idea of theft, but she also felt she had no say in the matter.

"That sounds mighty fine," Jayce smiled, patting Al on the shoulder only to have an excuse to push him down the street, "but let's not harp about it right outside the shop, eh?"

"Yeah, good point," Al said with an awkward chuckle. He felt dumb to not think of something so obvious.

Gauth picked himself up off the walkway and began to silently follow, keeping himself behind Dahlia in case she wandered off again. He glanced at the stick of cinnamon Jayce had purchased for him. Gauth had woven it into a leather bracelet he had kept from his homeland, both as a way to keep it close and accessible, and to remind him that there were truly evil people in this world. He would be on guard for his own safety and, more importantly, that of his friends.

He clenched that fist and turned his attention back to the group ahead of him. No more curses. Nothing good could come of such evil things.

"So, not that I'm counting, that's all the shopping, right?" Al asked, inadvertently bringing Gauth's attention back to the present. "Potion stuff, herbs, books, lodging's already taken care of… What's left?"

"Hopefully, just a visit t' the college, an' maybe lookin' for a job or two," Jayce said, looking around for any sign to give him direction. "Oh, and Dahlia needs a new canteen."

"Seriously? What happened to the old one?" Al asked, glancing back at the woman in question.

"She gave it away."

Al did a double take as Dahlia flinched and shrunk into herself.

"What?! Why?!" Al asked, incredulous. There was a brief pause as everyone turned to Dahlia, expecting her to speak for herself. Instead, she shrunk away farther, acting ashamed and guilty.

Jayce spoke instead. "She found someone who needed it more, that's all. Some bloke who hadn't eaten or somethin' for a few days, accordin' to her."

"Oof," Al puffed. "I've spent a stint or two without food, but never more than a couple days. Those are the worst."

Gauth nodded in agreement. He had actually spent several weeks without food once, but he didn't want to brag.

"But I thought water made it worse," Al continued, rubbing his chin in thought. "Was anything else in your canteen, Dahlia?"

"Honey and salt," she answered, having trouble facing her companions as she walked. Why did she feel so embarrassed to help someone who definitely needed it?

"Ugh! That sounds disgusting!" Al spat, pulling a face. "Poor man."

"It's a solution designed to help normalize the body after a lack of water and/or nutrients over a prolonged period," Dahlia added, finding her voice now that she could use her knowledge. "It's especially useful for those who have been experiencing a bout of excessive vomiting or diarrhea."

"And now I don't want lunch," Al gagged.

"You've gotta have the weakest stomach in Tal'Dorei," Jayce snickered.

"It's also useful for heat stroke!" Dahlia quickly added, hoping the addition of a less graphic illness would help. Of course, she missed Al's quick backhanded punch to Jayce's upper arm, behind her back. Jayce was a little sore, but he laughed, quietly, anyway.

"So! Next, we get Dahlia a canteen-"

"Probably should grab her a couple," Al teased.

Jayce rolled his eyes but continued. "Then to whatever place of higher learnin' they've got in town. If we're lucky, we'll find work on the way."

"Jayce!" Gauth interrupted with such force that he startled all of them. "We have time, so tell another joke!"

"Oh please no," Al whined.

Jayce glanced over his shoulder at the gentle giant who was practically bouncing with each step. Gauth looked so excited for a joke. He hated being put on the spot, but to please his friend, he would try to think of something quickly.

Then he saw Gauth's belt.

"So, Gauth, I've actually dealt with a boomerang before," Jayce began, a familiar mischievous note creeping into his voice.

Gauth was amazed. "Really? Where? When?"

Jayce waved off the questions. "Not important. Thing is, my introduction was mighty strange."

Gauth was completely hooked at this point, as was Dahlia. Al, however, was tense, waiting for the punchline as if it was a literal punch to the gut.

"How so?" Gauth asked.

Jayce held out his hands to demonstrate, just a few inches apart. "First time I saw it, it was this big! Then it kept gettin' bigger. I tried to figure out why...and then it hit me!"

Gauth burst out with his booming laughter as Dahlia fought valiantly to keep her own laughing to herself. Al glared at Jayce with all the venom he could muster, matching those smug yellow eyes with extreme annoyance.

"By the gods you are the worst…" Al hissed.

Jayce gave him a smug wink and continued walking, reveling in the laughter of his other two friends. Maybe he should have been a bard.

xXxXx

The Scholar Ward was almost a different world from the crowded streets of the Market Ward. Sprawling, open parks lined with stone walkways meandered between Westhall Academy, the main college of Westruun (and arguably all of Tal'Dorei), and the bardic college, called the College of the Savvy. Across a small square, which contained a monument to the college's founder, the White Duke, was the Cobalt Reserve, a building which made the smaller college of the arts seem meger by comparison. Jayce briefly wondered if Westhall Academy purposely built their campus away from the massive library to avoid such comparisons of size, as it was otherwise a painfully long walk between the classes and the location of the supposed reference material the students would need.

Upon traversing the gardens, they nearly lost Dahlia. If Gauth had not been walking behind the group, it would have been possible for them to walk the three miles without even noticing she had gone. However, as he was paying attention, Gauth was able to alert Jayce and Al that she had peeled away from the group to approach a young bard in training who was playing a lute under a nearby tree. She was not the only young woman with that idea, but she refused to get close enough to actually join the crowd. The men were thankful for that, as it made approaching her less awkward.

"Dahlia, ya gotta warn us if yer gonna run off," Jayce sighed, making sure to talk as he walked up to her so his arrival wouldn't be a surprise. The song was pleasant, but they still had several miles to go before they reached the library, and he wanted to attempt at least some research before they needed to head back to the Riversong.

Especially since the Academy had turned out to be a bust. Gauth and Dahlia had stayed outside the main building to practice math, and as soon as Jayce stepped inside, the receptionist violently refused to help him. If Al hadn't gotten between the two of them, it would have come to blows, and all because Jayce happened to share lineage with a violent race of marauders.

"I-I'm sorry," Dahlia mumbled, fidgeting with the hem of her glove. "I recognised the song. Black Starlight, by Mirilye Ellaltas. Her arrangements are typically for viol and flute, but this version is actually really nice."

Jayce paused a moment to actually listen to the song. It was slow, and sad, but carried the barest light of hope between the notes. He turned to Dahlia and watched her listen, then closed his eyes. He wanted to hear what she was hearing, to experience it the way she did.

The music washed over him like subtle waves, the phrases of the song ebbing and flowing like the ocean itself...but the sensation barely registered with him, as he was losing his patience.

Jayce opened his eyes and looked around. Al was standing by Gauth, both listening to the song with the same passing interest one might give a talented busker.

He sighed and turned back to Dahlia. "It's nice ya know the song so well, but we're burnin' daylight, and I'm gettin' anxious to get answers before we end up needin' to go back to the Riversong. I know ya ain't a fan of libraries these days, but it's our last option."

"What did happen at the Academy?" Dahlia asked, holding out her arm for Jayce to begin leading her again.

He took her elbow gladly. "The receptionist was a racist asshole, that's all. Literally tried to punch me for sayin' 'hello'."

"I had hoped you were kidding about that," Dahlia said softly, her face turned toward him as they walked. Gauth and Al fell into step behind them, chatting about the song.

"I'm sure yer well aware this world can hold some fuckin' evil pieces of shit…" Jayce hissed under his breath. He didn't want to talk about it. As much as he didn't want to wear it, he was glad he had donned his armor that morning.

"Would some company tonight help you?" she asked, her voice still soft in an attempt to be empathetic towards him.

However, Jayce's mind immediately leapt to a different conclusion and he nearly stumbled a step. He could feel his face go hot and he was very glad Dahlia was blind. He still hoped she couldn't hear a blush in his voice as easily as a smile.

"Th-that's not-" Jayce cleared his throat, trying to be diplomatic in the spare few words he could actually think of at that moment. He finally asked, "Company, in what way?" After all, she was a professional. Perhaps she wasn't considering the plethora of options Jayce couldn't seem to pull away from his mind.

"Like our second night in Kymal, or the night in the mine," Dahlia responded simply. Jayce was relieved she seemed unaware of his discomfort. "I could work on your hands again, or offer conversation while you bathed or just relaxed. If you need a reason, think of it as a thank you for finding me a new canteen so quickly."

Dahlia patted the new canteen on her hip to emphasise her point. Jayce felt ridiculous. Of course she meant something so simple and innocent. She was a healer in every way, including the soul. She really was a treasure.

Speaking of treasure, Jayce suddenly thought of something. "Hey, Dahlia, mind if I ask about what ya got at the Illustrious Artiste?"

"I would rather you didn't!" she squeaked, her face snapping away from him as her fingers went tense around his arm. "It's...not… Jayce, you risked your life for that gold, and…"

Her shoulders were taut again, and Jayce winced as her fingers started to get tight enough to dig into his muscles. She had done this before. He realized with a shock that her demon was fighting with her at that very moment, and yanked her arm back hard enough to bring her to a sudden stop.

"Dahlia, listen!" He grabbed her other arm, above the elbow like the first, and she went stiff as a board. "Listen to me. That thing ain't in charge. You are. Yeah, I risked a lot for that gold, but I got it for ya to get somethin' you wanted. I don't care if it's a dress, a toy, or a damned contraption I can't hope to understand. As long as it was what you wanted, that's all that matters."

Dahlia was quiet, her voice caught in her throat. Jayce let go of her arms as he figured the excess touch was preventing her from being able to unwind. Her shoulders started to fall to a more natural position, and she began to nod.

"I'm sorry. I...did get something for myself, and then spent hours regretting it. It was...a selfish thing," she mumbled, rubbing her arms. "I should have gotten something useful-"

"Ah, no, Dahlia, what did I just say?" Jayce cut in, trying to add a teasing note to his voice. He wanted to see her smile. If she smiled, that thing would be backing off. He hoped.

She sighed. "That it could be something completely ridiculous, but it didn't matter as long as I wanted it?"

And there it was. The edge of a smile peeking through her lips. Jayce felt a victory in his heart, which was a welcome palate cleanser from his most recent bitter encounter.

"Exactly. So, can I ask?" he beamed.

"You two okay?" Al asked, stepping over. "Why'd you stop walking?"

"The curse started twistin' her words again," Jayce said, turning to Al. "She's okay now."

Gauth quietly hissed something rather vile in a language none of them understood. Jayce and Al were quite glad they weren't the target of Gauth's anger, as the intent of his message was quite clear.

"Dahlia, please, no offense, but is this going to be a daily thing?" Al asked, already prepared to wince in case she overreacted in some way.

"I wish it wasn't," she mumbled.

"Al, it's a fuckin' curse. Since when were those things designed to be convenient?" Jayce huffed as he crossed his arms. "It's one of the reasons we're headed to the library, remember?"

Al sighed and held up his hands. "Sorry, sorry. Just… hoping for some reprieve, you know?"

"Reprieve?" Gauth asked.

"Rest, or a period of quiet or peace," Dahlia said, speaking up so Gauth could hear her clearly. "And I'd like a reprieve very much, Al. I know I can be a pain-"

"No!" Gauth cut in. He caught it this time! "You are not a pain. You taught me addition today."

"Right. Why did Yosxim teach you percentages without even teaching you basic addition and subtraction?" Dahlia asked.

Gauth shrugged. "I don't know. But I do know it makes more sense, now that I understand more about math."

"Anyway!" Jayce added force to his voice, trying to avoid shouting while still getting his friends' attention. "We still have a few miles to go. Off to the library?"

It was collectively decided to continue their walk. They all had a number of questions, and privately hoped for coherent answers. Jayce wished to learn what demon was haunting him, and where his strange powers came from. Al wanted to know what the inscription on that necklace might mean, and clues as to where he could find its owner. Dahlia prayed for a solution to her illness, and perhaps a way to "see" without sight. Gauth was just hoping whatever they were looking for would come with pictures.

He couldn't wait to learn how to read.

xXxXx

The sweeping arches of the high-elvan styled Cobalt Reserve was an impressive and intimidating sight as it towered over them, reaching at least a dozen stories into the sky. It was one of the few taller buildings to survive Umbrasyl's wrath, fifty years prior, and as such its marble facade gleamed like a beacon of knowledge and perseverance in the lowering sun of the afternoon. Thin, tall windows stretched along the sides, easily spanning several floors, optimally positioned to catch the light of the sun along its yearly path; Even to those who were unfamiliar with the meandering path of the sun and moons, it was quite clear intense thought went into the design of the building.

Due to his previous experience, Jayce asked Al to speak for them in the Welcoming Hall, one of the few rooms of the library that was openly accessible to patrons without an escort. The woman who received them was human, with a kind and gentle face. Her eyes seemed to squint from her nearly permanent smile, making them sparkle when the light managed to catch them. Al, also nervous from the experience at the Academy, cleared his throat and made an additional effort to be polite.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," Al began, smiling the way he had seen Jayce do before. "We're here to hopefully find some answers."

"Good afternoon to you!" The woman bowed with respect, her two-toned blue robes flowing around her like water. "Ioun willing, the answers are here to be found. What questions do you have?"

"Well," Al chuckled awkwardly, threading his fingers through the back of his hair, "we've got a good number of them. I'm personally looking for some clues as to what an inscription means, and my friend here wants to know about demons and hauntings."

The woman nodded slowly, looking them all over. "Depending on the inscription, you could end up on opposite ends of the Reserve. Do you have the inscription with you, or know what kind of demon or haunting you're looking for?"

Al could easily remember the inscription. After trying to learn its meaning for so long, it was practically burned into his mind.

"It said, 'Child of the chains, speak my name; My will is revealed to the faithful.' It was written in Celestial. As for the demon and hauntings…" Al turned to Jayce.

Jayce cleared his throat and tried not to look awkward. "I've got a sketch, but that's about it. Apologies, ma'am."

The woman smiled as if it was no issue. "Not to worry; we'll pair you off with a seperate escort, and hopefully you'll be able to find some answers. What about the other two of you?"

"I can't read," Gauth said flatly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"And neither can I," Dahlia mumbled, her face falling toward the floor.

The woman took it in stride. "That doesn't mean you don't have questions. Is there something you'd like to know?"

Gauth glanced at the stick of cinnamon woven into the leather band on his wrist. He turned to the woman with a look of intense determination. "I want to learn about curses, and how to break them. Especially curses that make someone want to die."

Dahlia flinched. She knew he was doing this for her. If only he knew what was truly wrong with her, he wouldn't waste his time with unnecessary research...but would he still respect her if he knew?

Or like the others, would he assume her problems could be fixed by "just getting over it"?

"We can definitely find something for you," the woman smiled. "And you, miss?"

"Medicine," was all she managed to mumble.

Again, the woman took it in stride. "If that's all, I'll go find escorts for the four of you. Please wait a moment. And while I'm away, please take your weapons, food, and water to the desk to your left; This is a place of peace and learning, and we would appreciate your cooperation in protecting our books and scrolls."

"Of course," Al smiled nervously. He wasn't used to being the face of this group, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

The woman took her leave, and the group turned to the left. Sure enough, there was a desk in front of a large closet room, like a coat room but containing cubbies and small crates for the more bulky equipment of adventurers. Jayce and Al watched in awe as Guath pulled his axe, his boomerang, four throwing javelins, a folding quarterstaff, and five daggers of various lengths and styles, off his belt and out of his bag. The monk manning the desk stared at the pile in a mix of abject horror and disbelief before catching himself and nervously bundling the weapons together.

"Gods damn, Gauth! Where'd you get all those weapons?!" Jayce whispered. It felt wrong to talk too loudly in any place with a lot of books.

Gauth shrugged. "They're useful, so I pick them up when I find them."

"Uh, sir?" the monk asked. "What about the folding quarterstaff? I've never seen one that collapses before."

Gauth looked at the monk in blue with a terrible grin. "I got it off a monk that thought I was being rude."

The monk laughed nervously, silently praying to Ioun that the giantkin man was, indeed, only joking, and made sure to make a mental note to give that man a very, very wide berth.

Al stepped up next and just dropped his bag on the counter, already annoyed that he'd have to give up his tools. He was about to walk away when the monk called out to him.

"Uh, sir, your weapons, please."

Al huffed and rolled his eyes. "They're in the bag!"

"Then please hand over your cloak as well," the monk said firmly. "It's quite warm in the building, and we at the Cobalt Reserve would prefer your stay to be comfortable."

Al sighed. The monk wasn't fooled. He unclipped his cloak and grumbled, unsheathing the three daggers hidden on the back of his belt to wrap in the cloak before handing them over. The monk slipped them into the bag and handed Al two small slips of paper, and a request to hand the smaller numbered one to Gauth.

Gauth, having barely caught the last part of the comment, turned toward the monk who visibly flinched. Gauth snickered and wandered back to the center of the Welcoming Hall.

Jayce stepped up next, shrugging off his backpack and unclipping his sword belt. As he laid the sword and sheath across the desk, his hand locked up. It suddenly occurred to him that this would be the first time in several months that he'd be more than arm's reach away from his blade, and the thought deeply unnerved him.

"Uh, sir?"

Jayce's knuckles started to strain against the leather of his armored gloves. Gritting his teeth, he forced his hand to open and almost stumbled back from the sheer force of will required to just let go.

"Sir, are you alright?" the monk asked, his voice trembling. Something about how that green man looked at that blade unnerved him.

"I'm fine," Jayce panted, unclipping his coat. "Just kinda attached to it, is all." Why was letting go of that thing such an effort?

The monk nodded slowly, and began to slide the sheathed blade off the counter.

Jayce felt a chill crawl up his spine, but he swallowed hard and set his jaw. He just had to ignore it and find out what the hell was happening to him. There had to be answers here.

He handed over his coat as Dahlia stepped up to the counter, her hand in front of her to find the edge of it. The monk, noticing her bandage, briefly asked Jayce if they were together.

Jayce, distracted and having missed the question, nearly did a double take. "Pardon, what?"

"Are you and the miss here together?" the monk asked again.

"Yes, we're travelling companions," Dahlia answered for him. "Why?"

Jayce breathed a sigh of relief to himself.

"I'm concerned he'll need to hold on to the tickets to retrieve your items, miss," the monk answered, taking Dahlia's bag.

"I'm not stupid. I can keep track of a piece of paper," Dahlia hissed.

"If you set it down, how will you find it again?" the monk asked, a tremble entering his voice. "It's not like you can see, right?"

Dahlia's fist started to clench, and she forced herself to breathe. "Just give me back my bag. If it's going to be such a hassle for me to hold on to a piece of paper, I'll wait outside."

Jayce knew what she was feeling, and thought he could help. "Dahlia, it's not-"

Dahlia thrust out her hand at the monk. "Give me back my bag," she spat, emphasising every word.

He knew he had to do something. Jayce motioned for the monk to take the bag and grabbed Dahlia's arm, pulling her away from the counter. Predictably, she lashed out, but Jayce caught her wrist and held it fast.

"Dahlia, ya gotta calm down," he whispered, letting go of her hand. She huffed, turning her face away from him, so he continued. "Trust me, I get it. I'm used to people assumin' I can't do one thing or another just because I look like...me...but ya gotta admit, he's got a point."

"I do have pockets!" she growled, trying to pry at his fingers on her arm.

"And he's a piece of shit for just assumin' you're helpless," Jayce sighed. "Like I said, I get it. Thing is, he thinks he's bein' helpful. Give 'im a gentle reminder, and move on."

Dahlia grunted in annoyance, but finally gave up trying to yank Jayce's hand off her arm. "Fine, but you talk to him. I'm done. And I'm not giving up my coat."

Jayce nodded and let her go. "Sounds fair. I'll get the ticket."

Dahlia sighed and rubbed the blindfold into her eye. "You do realize this means I can't leave without you?"

Jayce couldn't help snickering to himself. "Damn. You've seen through my master plan."

Dahlia sputtered through a suppressed laugh and gripped her stomach, shaking with the effort to keep quiet. "You're a jerk," she wheezed.

"I know," Jayce beamed, walking back to the desk. The monk behind it looked quite confused, and winced when Jayce finally locked eyes with him.

"I suggest, in the future, you avoid assumin' about your patrons," Jayce said with a smile, and the monk tried to swallow his fear. The monk failed to miss the snarl Jayce slipped into that smile, clearly noting the fanged back teeth common of the orcs. Although this one had no tusks, which was strange.

"Yes, sir," the monk, cowed, mumbled, and handed over two tickets for the checked in equipment. "And her coat, sir?"

"No," Jayce said flatly, crossing his arms. "You nearly caused a scene, and she doesn't trust ya, so she's keepin' the coat. Honestly, I don't blame her."

The monk deflated. "Yes sir… Just, if she has any food items or weapons on her person, please let her know to keep them to herself, and kept put away around the materials. Thank you."

Jayce nodded his thanks and took the tickets, returning to Al and Gauth in the center of the room. Dahlia was still standing off to the side, although she seemed to be in better spirits.

"So what happened?" Al asked. "Dahlia looked pretty upset there."

"You could just ask me," Dahlia called over.

"Yeah, well, you looked like you needed space!" Al quietly called back. "So what happened?"

Dahlia stepped over to the group. "The attendant over there assumed I'd be too stupid to keep my hand on a ticket because I can't see anything."

"Ah. I'm surprised you didn't punch him," Al smirked.

"I would have," Gauth snickered.

"Then I'm glad you weren't with me," Dahlia sighed.

"Actually, Dahlia, why don't you ditch the blindfold?" Al asked, rubbing his chin in thought. "You get around so well, people might mistake you for being able to see, and wouldn't assume."

"And we'd actually see what color your eyes are!" Gauth smiled.

Dahlia grunted in frustration and pressed her fingertips into the blindfold. "Why does that even matter? It's not like I can look at my reflection. Pelor's light, I barely remember what color they actually are."

"We could fix that," Al smiled. "We could tell you what color they are."

"No!" Dahlia flinched away. "Just...no. Not yet. Maybe in a few days, when I know you all better."

"Why is this a big deal?" Al asked, getting frustrated. His curiosity was eating at him. "It's not like we can steal your soul or anything."

The woman who greeted them, having returned, cleared her throat to grab their attention. "Greetings again, travelers. I see you've dropped off your equipment; thank you." She smiled kindly and gestured to four young monks, all dressed in the simple two-toned blue raiments of the Cobalt Soul. "These young men and women will be your escorts. I have chosen students who have interests in the topics you wish to study, and as such should be able to help you find answers before the sun sets and we close to the public."

"Thank you kindly," Jayce said, forgetting himself and nodding towards her. Al kept quiet, as he preferred to be in the background anyway.

If anyone was offended by Jayce speaking for the group, nothing was said, and the companions were paired off with students of the Cobalt Soul. Dahlia ended up paired with a young woman who shared her interest in practical medicine, and the two began a long conversation about the field applications of such techniques as they climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.

The young woman couldn't contain her enthusiasm as she led Dahlia to the medical reference section. "And you've even learned of a way to reduce scarring?"

"Of course," Dahlia smiled. "Clerical magic does not create material out of nothing; it simply accelerates the body's natural process. By resetting bone, cleaning wounds, and reducing distance between edges of a lesion before applying the magic, less material is required, and as such the duration of the spell can be applied to the recovery of the wound, rather than just the patching of it."

"Fascinating!" the woman smiled. "And you've done all this while blind?"

"I've been determined," Dahlia mumbled, as she still felt sore about her disability.

The young monk suddenly stopped walking, which Dahlia only noticed because the floors were not carpeted.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I, uh," the monk stammered, obviously flailing for a response. "Please, ma'am, please wait here. Um, my classmate is… Oh Mistress please tell me a teacher is nearby!"

"What is going on?" Dahlia whispered under her breath.

"Please stay here!" And with that, the monk ran off, yelling, "Elsabeth! Please come in from the window!"

"Hell no! I'm busy!" a more brusque, and barely feminine, voice responded.

"But it's five stories if you fall!"

"Shut up! I said no!"

"Elsabeth! Please!" the monk begged.

"Just shut the hell up! I'm listening!"

Dahlia began to fidget with her glove. This felt incredibly awkward. However, they were being loud enough for Dahlia to listen to the sound bouncing around her. After listening to the argument for a moment, she could almost tell the shape of the room around her. The major walkways of the library seemed to follow the outside walls, preferring to keep the tall shelves of books and scrolls as far from the natural light as possible. On the other hand, flanking the walkway was a series of tables, set with chairs, for those reading or studying to take advantage of the natural light. Dahlia thought the layout was clever.

"Gods above, leave me the hell alone!" the rougher voice, probably Elsabeth, finally snapped. "I could barely hear him over your squealing!"

"Who in the world were you even listening to?!" the woman responded. From the relief in her voice, Dahlia assumed the aforementioned Elsabeth had finally reentered the building.

"None of your business, Newt!" Elsabeth spat. "What are you even doing up here? I thought you were training right now."

"Don't call me Newt! I'm escorting a patron!" the monk replied, obviously upset. Dahlia continued to fidget with her glove, as she was fully listening to the conversation again. She couldn't really avoid it, after all. They were being quite loud.

There was a sudden, almost deafening pause. The silence was such a juxtaposition to the squabble that Dahlia felt her shoulders go tense, and her teeth on edge. She mentally calculated the steps back to the Welcoming Hall, just in case she needed to run.

"Actually, Evete," Elsabeth said quietly, but still audible to Dahlia's trained ear, "do you mind if I take over? I'd like to talk to this one…"

xXxXx

Jayce's escort, a young man named Gilas, placed another three books on the table as Jayce quickly flipped through the one in front of him. They had determined the creature haunting him was either from the Plane of Water, or in some way connected to the sea, due to the circumstances surrounding its first appearance and the design of the demon itself. They began their search through a few general demonic taxonomy books, on the off chance it was a lesser demon, and was not some named creature of greater power. As Jayce was nearing the end of the book, his hopes were not high that he would find it in the lower echelons of the demonic power caste.

"Anything yet?" Gilas asked quietly, picking up the books Jayce had already pawed through. Like the other monks, Gilas' blond hair was cut short on the sides and what remained was tied back and tightly to create a knot over his head. Jayce noted with amusement that, despite being notorious bookworms, the monks of the Cobalt Soul seemed to be incredibly fit.

"No," Jayce sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his face. His eyes were already starting to strain from skimming so many pages. "Too bad we can't search by pictures, eh? This would be a helluva lot easier."

Gilas glanced at the open journal. The pages were slightly warped from water damage, but seemed otherwise in good shape. Yet another clue whatever this thing was came from the Plane of Water...at least once upon a time. In truth, Gilas wasn't looking through the books with the patron; he was watching Jayce. It was odd enough to find a half-orc who was interested in literature, but this one read with surprising speed and accuracy, and didn't even seem to notice when the books he looked through were in Deep Speech or Abyssal. Then there were the blood spots on the page they were referencing. Gilas had a theory about the reason for this research, and if his theory was right, any discovery they made would be paired with another nosebleed.

In fact, Gilas was practically praying for it. He wanted very badly to be right. For once in his life, he wanted to be right.

Jayce abruptly twisted around in his seat, looking back over the way they came. All he saw were a few other pairs of patrons and escorts bathed in the slanting sunlight from the windows.

"Are you okay?" Gilas asked, trying to peek past Jayce.

"Yeah, I'm fine...just thought I heard somethin', is all," Jayce mumbled, rubbing his head. He was starting to feel a bit faint and dizzy. "Probably gonna have t' come back tomorrow; I think my head's about to call it quits."

"That's unfortunate," Gilas sighed, tapping his fingers on the table. He glanced at the open journal again. "If you don't mind handing me the journal, I can keep looking for you. If I find anything, I'll have it ready by tomorrow."

"That's mighty kind of ya, but I'll be keeping my things, thank you," Jayce said with a disarming smile. He put on a show of looking tired, even though the hairs on the back of his neck were practically standing on end. "Don't know when I'm gonna need it an' all that."

Gilas nodded with a sigh. "I can understand. Should I take you back to the Welcoming Hall?"

"Yeah, please. I can't imagine my friends'll be busy too much longer," Jayce said, standing from his seat. "Need a hand puttin' any of these back?"

"Oh no worries," Gilas smiled. "I'd like to continue looking through them when I get back. Let's go."

xXxXx

Al was frustrated. He found plenty of writings about cults and that damned void, the Chained Oblivion, but nothing seemed to click into place. The phrase he had was simply too vague to pin down in a library that literally stretched to the sky, full of every kind of book imaginable.

He nearly slammed his current book shut, but the look of warning from his escort, a dark haired woman whose curly locks did not appreciate the tight and trimmed hairstyle of the monks, reminded him of his place, and he closed the cover gently.

"Still nothing," he grumbled, drumming his fingers across the book. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

The monk shrugged. "I did say it was a long shot. The Chained Oblivion was really my best guess."

"Honestly," Al sighed, rubbing his temples, "I'm glad it's not the Chained Oblivion. That thing is terrifying."

"A sentient void would be," the monk nodded, crossing her arms in thought. "Perhaps we're thinking of this the wrong way. Rather than a reference to a god or group, what if it's a passphrase? Or a hint to one?"

"How is that better?" Al grunted, dropping his head into his hands. "I don't even know who would use a phrase like that!"

"It gives you a different direction to look?" the monk said, trying to be helpful. She was reaching as much as he was.

Al rested his elbows on the table and cradled his head in his fingertips, trying to think. The Cobalt Reserve was turning into a bust, but he knew that wasn't the only place to find information in Westruun. In fact, he knew the Underwalk Ward would likely have answers, if there were answers to have, but he would need information to trade, and he couldn't think of anything on hand… except for a handful of papers from a supposedly defunct mine.

Al almost cursed under his breath. He had completely forgotten to give those to Yosxim over a week ago. He had no idea if they were useful in any way, but it was his best bet.

He sat back in his chair, rubbing the strain out of the back of his neck, and subtly shifting his hand to brush the styled burn scar between his shoulder blades. The mark of the Clasp. It seemed, if he wanted any answers, he'd have to talk to some old acquaintances, and hope he could get out alive.

xXxXx

"And this one is a nithing," Gauth's escort, a young man with slim glasses, said while pointing to an illustration in a book of curses. "It's a particularly nasty curse that causes bad luck to fall on the victim, as well as disease and painful death. Thankfully, it's easy enough to break; simply scratch out the name of the victim on the wooden pole, carve in the name of the caster, and point the horse's skull at the new victim's abode."

Gauth grunted in annoyance. "That's not breaking the curse; that's simply moving it. Why not just destroy the skull and post?"

The man sighed and reset his glasses. "That would just cause the curse to kill the victim immediately. I suppose that would be a better death than the intended one, but I don't believe that qualifies as breaking the curse."

"Is there no way to break the curse?" Gauth asked, looking over the illustration again. So far, almost every curse they covered had no known cure. It was beginning to look like curses were unbreakable contracts with Death himself.

The monk thought deeply, calling back to his own teaching. "Curses are, by nature, creations of magic, whether it be intentional or a burst of extreme emotion. All magic can be dispelled, or at the very least unwound, but it would depend greatly on the strength of the magic and the caster. A novice wouldn't be able to dispel a nithing, for example, but a grand master would likely have no trouble."

Gauth nodded, thinking over the implications. "So I must gain a wizard ally."

The monk nodded. "That seems to be your best bet."

"And there are wizards at the Academy," Gauth mumbled, mostly to himself as he rested his chin on his knuckles. "Therefore, my best chance is to head there, and speak to someone about removing a curse."

The monk looked shocked. "No offense, sir, but that was more logic than I expected of a goliath. I'm impressed."

"I'm not a, a simpering babe," Gauth growled, inwardly hoping he had picked the correct word. "I am capable of thought."

"As you have shown!" the monk said quickly, his hands up to show he meant no offense. "However, you must know that breaking curses will not be cheap. It could cost you hundreds of gold."

Gauth grumbled to himself. Of course it would be expensive. These damned "civilized" societies and their damnedable currencies.

"Then I must set out for coin. Thank you, sir monk, for your help. I have learned much today."

The monk smiled. "Of course. I'll escort you back."

xXxXx

Hours had passed, and the Cobalt Reserve was preparing to close for the night. Al and Jayce bumped into each other on the stairs, and to Al's surprise, Jayce barely seemed to recognize him. All he got was a brief but polite comment as Jayce nearly bowled past him, and it took Al calling out his name several times to catch Jayce's attention. Both their escorts were surprised, but Gilas made a mental note for later.

In fact, of the two of them, only Gilas escorted the two patrons all the way to the Welcoming Hall, as his classmate took the opportunity to return early and clean up the reference materials. It did not surprise him in the least that Jayce seemed exceptionally eager to retrieve his equipment, but unfortunately, Gauth had returned and intercepted Al on the way to the coat check desk, blocking the monk's view.

Jayce turned in his ticket, almost in too much of a rush to realize he had two, and as soon as his fingers curled around the hilt of his blade, all the tension was released from his body like a wave of the ocean crashing over him. He happily replaced his equipment, feeling strangely whole again.

"Well, at least you found something," Al grumbled, just in time for Jayce to return to the conversation. "I got bupkis."

"What'd you find?" Jayce asked, looking toward Gauth, and attempting to hide the fact that he was a bit out of it when he had entered the hall.

Gauth steeled himself and recalled what he learned. "All curses are, in some way, magic, and so it seems possible they could simply be dispelled. However, the strength of the curse would change how much power the wizard would need. For a curse like Dahlia's, we may need a very powerful wizard."

"Well, that's progress," Al said quietly, rubbing his short beard in thought.

Jayce swallowed, his jaw going tight. This could be a problem.

"Too bad we were thrown out of the Academy," Al continued. "We could have picked up a wizard there."

"Yes, what happened?" Gauth asked.

Al shrugged. "I can't really say. We walked in, the man at the front desk started yelling 'no monster spawn in these hallowed halls!' and practically lunged at us. If I didn't get in the middle, he probably would have punched out Jayce."

"You do get punched for saying hello!" Gauth snickered.

"Har-de-fuckin'-har," Jayce hissed.

"But that is unfortunate," Gauth sighed. "We will need to find a wizard who is not in the Academy."

"Actually, speaking of 'monster-born'-"

Jayce dropped his head in his hand and sighed with the weight of the world.

Al continued unabated. "-why don't you have tusks, Jayce? I thought all half-orcs had them."

The day in question, in all its horror, flashed across his mind. The taste of the blood in his mouth, the feel of the hands on his neck, the pain that flashed through his entire body...and yet he didn't even flinch.

Jayce shrugged, his arms crossed. "Picked a fight with somethin' bigger'n me when I was a tyke and I ended up well acquainted with a wall. Knocked out most of my teeth; these grew back, the tusks didn't."

"Oof," Al whistled with a grimace. "Lucky those were your baby teeth. What possessed you to pick a fight like that when you were that young?!"

Jayce finally turned, unable to meet the eyes of his companions. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"So that is why you're a brother who shouts," Gauth mumbled to himself.

Jayce looked at the goliath, confused. "A what?"

"Oh don't mind him," Al sighed, rolling his eyes. "He does this. I'm 'the brother who cheats'."

"And now I wanna know what Yosxim was," Jayce snickered.

"He used to be 'the elder who teaches', but now he is 'the asshole who speaks'," Gauth replied with a smile.

The three men shared a laugh over the thought and finally noticed their doctor had not yet returned. By the time they spotted an attendant in the Cobalt robes, Dahlia could be seen descending the stairs, alone, but in good spirits. Her attempt to recall her findings was interrupted by a loud grumbling of her stomach, and after a short, teasing laugh, they collectively decided to compare notes over dinner.

As the companions left the Cobalt Reserve, another figure exited via a back door, slipped through the training grounds, raced through the meditative gardens, and pole vaulted themself over the back wall. They landed quietly, checked for prying eyes, resettled a slim messenger pack, and then raced into the darkening streets of Westruun. Their target would not be in one place for long, and they couldn't afford to miss this chance.

xXxXx

The back alleys of the Market Ward were dark and maze like, filled with discarded crates and barrels, broken boxes and refuse. Stray and scavenger animals kept to themselves, occasionally allowing passerby a glimpse of their strange shadows as they darted from hiding place to hiding place. Dark bricks and crumbling mortar made identifying shapes all the more difficult with their odd lines and textures. Jonathan paced the wall by the Scholar Ward, his teeth on edge. He hated these back streets, and the people who preferred them, but necessity made strange destinations.

"Where is she?!" he hissed under his breath. He finally had energy again. Whatever that strange concoction was, he refused to believe it was just honey, water, and salt. There must have been magic involved, or something that strange woman didn't mention. Perhaps the canteen on his hip had once carried liquid bread, or some other high calorie beer, and there was some remaining when she mixed up the strange cocktail. Perhaps that was it. But then where would the water have come from? Then again, it was so incredibly sweet, he may have missed the taste of the alcohol; perhaps the base was actually the beer in question.

A figure landed hard to his left, and he jumped in surprise. He barely needed to look to confirm who it was.

"Damn it all, Zoe!" he hissed, trying to compose himself. "You nearly scared the shit out of me!"

"It might improve your shitty outlook," Zoe teased, shifting her Cobalt Soul robes back into place. She pulled off the messenger bag and handed it over. "Here; Food I managed to grab from the kitchens on the way out."

"Thank the gods…!" Jonathan breathed, ripping open the bag and pulling out day old bread and immediately shoving it into his mouth. It was chewy and stale, but it tasted like a feast to him. "Thank you so much."

"Ew. Bro, don't talk around your food," Zoe gagged. "Actually, second thought, don't stop. Mom would have a fucking fit!"

Both giggled over the image, but it did not last long. Jonathan sighed. "She prefers 'mother', Zoe."

"She also prefers calling me 'Elsabeth' after her own mother, but that isn't my name," Zoe huffed, crossing her arms. "I was Zoe long before your family tried to 'save' me from the gutter, and I'll be Zoe until the day I fucking die."

"Knowing you, you'll try to die fucking," Jonathan snickered.

Zoe laughed. "I can't help it if the ladies love me!"

"At least one of us has luck there," Jonathan mumbled, forcing himself to eat more of the food. He was feeling strangely full after only half a loaf. Maybe that strange concoction did more than just make him feel better.

"Speaking of ladies," Zoe smirked, taking on almost a teasing tone as she leaned against the wall, "tell me more about this blind woman who saved you."

Jonathan sighed. "Honestly, the only reason I was in that shop was to steal another book. The last one was completely useless; all it had were practice spells, cantrips really, that I already know, and nothing useful about medicinal arcana. Just theories about clerical magic, which of course were horribly out of date."

"That's what you get for raiding the bargain bin," Zoe snickered.

Jonathan shot her a look and then rolled his eyes. "Anyway, this woman stops behind me and starts shaking a canteen. This one." He pulled the canteen off his belt to show his sister. "By the time I looked, she was done mixing this...stuff, which she claimed was just honey, water, and salt. It tasted cloyingly sweet, but...I did feel better after drinking it."

Zoe held up a hand to stop him. "John, the story's cute, but I want a description of the woman. You said she was blind."

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah, she was. She was wearing a blindfold, and this oversized oilcloth coat. She was almost shockingly pale and her skin looked greasy."

Zoe nodded slowly, leaning her full back against the wall as she went over the events of the day. "Anything else?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Not really...beyond she somehow clued in to the fact that I hadn't eaten in three days just by walking by me."

"Holy fuck… John!" Zoe grunted in frustration. "You need to tell me when you're going without food! You know what that does to you!"

"I got lucky this time," Jonathan mumbled. "Besides, why are you so interested in this woman?"

"She came to the Reserve."

"Wha-?!" Jonathan slapped a hand to his face. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I did meet her in a bookshop. What would a blind woman even do in a library?"

"Apparently," Zoe smiled, pushing herself off the wall, "research medicine, and how to mix it with clerical and divine magic, and, get this, she's a goddamn masseuse!"

Jonathan could not respond, as his jaw had fallen open in shock.

"And," Zoe added, leaning in toward her brother to whisper conspiratorially, "she's an elf!"

Johnathan blushed and turned away, his shoulders by his ears. "What does that have to do with anything?!"

"Oh, nothing," Zoe teased, drawing out the second word as she intentionally invaded her brother's space. "I won't mention how lithe and beautiful elves are, or how they can be so flexible…!"

"Damn it, Zoe!" Jonathan whirled on his sister and tried to shove her back, but she easily stood her ground with a giggle. "Stop teasing me!"

"I'm just saying, she's perfect!" Zoe laughed. "A combination of medicine and magic, and as a bonus, she's a hot elf woman who is a goddamn masseuse! I was half thinking of ditching the Soul to join her group right then and there! It took everything I had to keep from flirting with her when she asked for that massage book. Gods, what I wouldn't do to see that woman in the bath-"

"Zoe, you are completely incorrigible," Jonathan grumbled. "But… as usual, you're right. She could be my chance to find a cure for these…"

Zoe watched her brother as he trailed off, his shoulders slumped in resigned defeat.

"Bro, they're not just headaches," she said softly, patting a hand on his shoulder. "Normal headaches don't haunt you, or cause you to go blind."

"I know, but try convincing Mother and Father," Jonathan mumbled. "They disowned me over these damned things."

"Fuck'em," Zoe spat, turning away before she wrongly lashed out at her brother as the rage pulsed through her veins. "They're complete idiots, and kicking you out was the last straw."

"For you," Jonathan whispered to himself.

He turned back to her, having found his voice. "Even so, I've missed my chance; she's gone, and it's not like my Message spell can find someone when I don't know where they are."

"Well, lucky for you, brother, I happened to learn where she's staying," Zoe smirked, hands akimbo in triumph. "I snuck it in to a conversation about how the names around here are just nonsensical, and her example was the name of the tavern she's staying at."

"Ioun bless you, you're amazing!" Jonathan almost laughed. He couldn't believe his luck was turning around. "Where is she?"

"First," Zoe smirked, crossing her arms and cocking her hip, "I purpose a bet."

"Oh hell no. I am not competing with you over a woman. I know better," Jonathan snickered. "I always lose."

"As long as you know where we stand!" Zoe laughed. "Then come on! It's close!"

Jonathan shouldered the messenger bag and chased after his sister. "What about your training?"

"Eh, screw them. If you're going out to see the world, I want to see it too!" Zoe beamed. "I'm tired of seeing the world on maps; I want to see it in person."

"Zoe, if this doesn't pan out, you could get in real trouble. They might kick you out of the Soul," Johnathan wheezed, already feeling out of wind after a single block. "And slow down!"

"You, dear brother of mine, need to work on your calisthenics. Besides, what else can they teach me? I know how to work in a library and punch stuff. That's literally all they seem to teach people there," Zoe said, easily jogging through the back streets.

"Where are we even going?!"

"To the Riversong! Come on!"

xXxXx

"How many is that now?"

Al picked up his mug and peered down into it. "Eh, four...and almost a fifth. Mostly. I've got a little bit left."

Dahlia sighed. She did not understand why people liked to drink. "It's barely been an hour. How are you still upright?"

Jayce snickered, putting down his own mug. "I dunno, maybe that other half is dwarf."

"What the hell are you saying?!" Al spat, slamming his mug on the table and whirling on Jayce. "Unlike you, at least I know who my parents are!"

"Sit the fuck down, Al. You're drunk," Jayce grunted, unimpressed. "That kinda jab ain't gonna get to me."

"Asshole," Al mumbled to himself, but he did sit back down. "All I wanted was a nice drink with dinner."

"Or five," Gauth sneered.

"Hey, I'm good for it!" Al huffed, then attempted to drain what was left of his mug. Nothing came out, so he just dropped the empty mug on the table. "The whole thing was dinner for the party, drink out of pocket, right? Or did I get it backwards?"

"Nah, you got it," Jayce said, sipping his own drink.

"So I can drink as much as I want," Al said, pulling a wounded face.

Dahlia perked up, almost pulling her hood back out of habit, but she stopped herself. Over the general din of the tavern, the rattle and clatter of dishes, the chatting voices, the bard on the small stage playing a rousing rendition of "Down with the Bear!", she could hear a nervous argument between two vaguely familiar voices. Someone brusque, and someone quiet. It seemed the more entertaining conversation, so Dahlia leaned back in her seat and tried to listen in.

"...you go talk to her!"

"No, you!"

"I only met her once!"

"So did I!"

Dahlia chuckled. It almost sounded like two men trying to get the courage to speak to a crush. She wondered who the lucky girl was.

The voices went quiet, and she could barely make them out, so she leaned a little further back.

"It's not like she's made of teeth! She won't bite you!"

"Just…! You go first! Come on! She'll think it's weird if I talk first!"

"Dahlia, were you drinkin'? You look like you're about to fall over," Jayce laughed.

"Just listening in to some lovebirds," Dahlia giggled. "It sounds like a couple of men are trying to convince each other to talk to someone they have a crush on."

"Oh! Details!" Al said excitedly, nearly leaning across the table. "Who, what, when, and I guess where's here. So, tell us!"

"Well," Dahlia began, trying to listen over the noise, "I know their target is female. They haven't dropped a name yet, so I can't tell you who they're aiming for…"

"Okay!" Al clapped his hands and rubbed them together with excitement. "Taking bets. Who wants to bet it's the blond woman in the back corner?"

Jayce sputtered a laugh into his mug. "You fuckin' serious?"

"Eh, could be that redhead by the bar," Gauth snickered.

"You and redheads," Al smirked. "A gold it's the blond."

"Deal."

A strange, disheveled man in a hood stepped up to Dahlia. "Miss Dahlia?"

Dahlia yelped in surprise and tipped right out of her seat when her body twitched in shock. Jayce threw out a hand for her, and managed to just barely grab the arm of her coat. Unfortunately, the oversized coat easily slipped around her, and she hit the floor with a thump anyway.

"What the hell?!" Al shouted, actually flying out of his seat this time. The disheveled man looked mortified.

"By the gods, I'm so sorry!" he yelped, diving to help her up. He managed to reach her before Jayce could untangle himself from the bench seating, and grabbed her arm to help her up. Dahlia's response was her usual one; a fist in the perceived threat's face.

"Gods' damn it!" the man spat, stumbling backward into the arms of some woman from the Cobalt Reserve. He was gripping his face with both hands, so if Dahlia had managed any sort of lasting damage, it was impossible to tell.

"Don't touch our cleric," Gauth growled, rising menacingly from his seat. His muscles were tense and obviously ready for action, his eyes narrow and deadly. The whole tavern instantly went quiet, holding their breath as the confrontation had taken a suddenly public interest.

"N-no harm was ment!" the woman in blue travel robes said quickly, almost waving her arms in panic. "We just wanted to talk to her, that's all-"

"Elsabeth?" Dahlia asked quietly, slowly working her way to her feet. She waved off Jayce's attempt to help. "What are you doing here? And how did you-"

Dahlia suddenly remembered their rather ridiculous conversation about odd names in Westruun. She felt stupid.

"Nevermind. I know how you found me," Dahlia mumbled. "But seriously, why are you here? Did I leave something in the Reserve? Do I owe any fines?"

"No no no! Nothing like that," Elsabeth said quickly, finally putting the disheveled man on his feet. "Your conversation was quite, uh… Damn it, what's the word…"

"May we please join you?!" the man cut in, almost putting his hands together in a begged prayer. "You are obviously part of a band of adventurers, especially considering your current companions, and we don't plan to freeload; I have abilities of the magical persuasion, and my sister is a master of the martial arts."

Jayce looked between the two of them. The man had pale skin, dusty brown hair, and blue eyes, while the woman next to him was sporting a near-permanent tan, nearly black hair, and dark, amber eyes. They couldn't have been more different if they tried.

"Bullshit. Sister?" he couldn't help but add. He winced and immediately blamed the alcohol.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Adopted. And for your large lost-looking friend there, yes, that means my brother is a wizard."

Gauth's eyes lit up. "Friends, we could use a wizard."

"But why talk to me?" Dahlia asked, settling back into her seat. "Why join me?"

"Because…" the man winced, but powered through and continued. "Because you reached out to me in kindness, and I want to repay you. I have literally nothing; nothing to give, nothing to keep, nothing to lend...except my being and my ability. Yet you gave me an essential travelling tool off your own belt with no expectation of compensation, or even knowledge of myself. The world needs more of that, and to see that happen, I want to pledge my skill, and my life, to yours."

"And I want to tag along to make sure he doesn't kill himself in the process," Elsabeth snickered, throwing an arm around her brother. "So what say you? We in?"

Dahlia could not look at them in shock, and yet her half-covered face clearly showed she was in a state of it. She stammered several responses, all unfinished, before tensing up and turning away from them.

Jayce took a moment to fully internalize what just happened. Two strangers just walked up and asked to follow Dahlia to the ends of the earth, but more shockingly, Dahlia had grabbed Jayce's hand under the table.

It had been over a week since she had initiated any sort of touch between them. The alcohol dulled his senses, and as such he barely registered she was begging for help. Thankfully, he surfaced and turned to the two interlopers.

Jayce put on a smile of confidence. "How about ya sit yourselves at the table with us an' have a chat? Names'll be a good place to start, so here's mine; I'm Jayce, this is Al, and that's Gauth. Ya obviously already know Dahlia."

"That's true," Elsabeth said easily, slipping into the seat next to Al, which forced her brother into the only open seat next to Jayce. It was the closest open seat to Dahlia and Jonathan, knowing his sister, immediately noticed and tried not to make a big deal out of it. "I'm Zoe, and this is my brother, Jonathan."

"Wait, Zoe?" Gauth asked, turning toward her. "I thought Dahlia said your name was Elsabeth."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "That's my 'official' name. The name I was born with is Zoe."

"...I'm confused," Al grumbled, rubbing his face.

"Five beers'll do that to ya," Jayce snickered. "Nice t' meet ya both."

"And you," Zoe smiled. "So, pardon the expression, but think of us like open books. What do you want to know?"

"Why does he look like a beggar?" Al asked, suppressing a burp.

"Don't mind him; he's drunk," Jayce said, purposefully ignoring Al's rude gesture at the interruption.

"It's a fair question," Jonathan said. "I'm currently homeless."

"But, you two are siblings," Gauth said, his confusion written across his face.

As the proceedings had obviously come to an amicable conclusion and were no longer interesting, the crowd returned to their own conversations. The din of the tavern returned.

"Yes," Jonathan answered, shame evident in his voice, "but our parents have expressed disdain over my claim to the household-"

"Oh, I get it," Al interrupted with a smirk, "you're a rich boy and your parents cut you off."

"That's not...entirely untrue…" Jonathan mumbled, his eyes falling to the table. "I have been disowned by most of my family."

"And I was at the Soul before he was kicked out," Zoe sighed. "I did everything I could to get him in, but they wouldn't accept him-"

"Zoe, stop. I don't blame you for anything," Jonathan said with a weak smile. "If anything, you've kept me alive."

"Bro, it's my job," Zoe giggled. "Anyway! That probably said more about us than I actually planned on telling you all, so...anything else I should spill my guts about?"

"What's your thoughts on curses?" Gauth asked. Al punched him in the arm and he literally didn't even notice.

"Uh, they suck?" Zoe said with a shrug. "Why?"

Jonathan looked over the table. "Is one of you cursed, or looking to break one?"

Jayce sighed, rubbing his face in frustration. "Yes, and yes. So keep that in mind when yer askin' to join us."

"What kind of curse?" Jonathan asked, his head tilted in curiosity.

Jayce glanced at Dahlia, noting her hand was still curled around his under the table. She gave it a slight squeeze, and he noticed a nod. He turned to the siblings.

"Dahlia has been cursed with bouts of insanity that make her beg for death," Jayce said simply.

"Who the hell-?" Zoe began in utter disbelief. "How?!"

"Honestly, I don't know," Jayce said, hoping Dahlia would be reassured with a subtle squeeze of his own. "She hasn't told me. As ya can imagine, she ain't big on trust, after a curse like that."

"I don't blame her," Jonathan breathed, also shocked. "Is it triggered by anything, or-"

"I'll be in my room," Dahlia said suddenly, quickly rising from her seat. "Jayce, can I have the key?"

"Uh, yeah, here," Jayce fumbled around his coat pockets until he pulled out the right one. "Room three."

"Thank you," she said, taking the key and turning to leave. Her companions, new and old, just watched her go.

"That...was sudden," Zoe said, still surprised at the turn of the conversation. "Sore about it?"

"Yeah," Jayce sighed, still watching the stairs. "Her old crew gave her shit about it."

"I almost wish I had met them," Gauth growled under his breath.

"Still feel like joinin' us?" Jayce smiled, although it was obvious it was a tired and fake one.

"Absolutely," Jonathan said, nodding with determination. "Her gift was an entirely selfless one, and I feel there's a debt to pay."

"This isn't about nobleman's honor," Al spat, glaring at Jonathan while trying to keep from swaying in his seat. "You want to use her, don't you?"

Jonathan wouldn't have answered, if it wasn't for the fact that Al had revealed a blade, and the goliath sitting right next to him had a clear look of warning.

Jonathan winced, his fists going tight. "I won't deny it; her skill will be incredibly useful to me. I suffer from literally blinding headaches, and I haven't been able to find any cure or treatment."

"Trust me, he's been looking," Zoe cut in. "We both have."

"But you can't be following her for completely altruistic reasons," Jonathan quickly added. "Surely you have something to gain from all this."

"She's my teacher," Gauth said simply, crossing his arms. "That's it. Jayce and Al have nothing to gain but friendship."

"He ain't wrong," Jayce said with a smile.

"I'm just sticking around because Gauth and I are friends," Al hiccuped.

Gauth snickered and ruffled his friend's hair, which of course prompted a rather ridiculous drunken attempt at fending off the large hand.

"I can tell," Zoe laughed, watching the feeble attempt fail. "Anyway, our turn. You know our skills, such as his zappy hands and my slugging hands."

Gauth failed to resist an urge to snicker.

Zoe continued. "What are yours?"

"Well," Jayce said, looking over the table, "Al there's a thief-"

"Dammit, Jayce! Rogue! I'm a rogue!" Al asserted with a slam of his hands on the table. "I'm not some goddamned thief."

"Or just a goddamned thief," Zoe snickered.

"Movin' on," Jayce huffed. "Gauth there's a warrior."

"I...assumed as much," Jonathan gulped, noting the number of weapons Gauth had on him.

Gauth noted Jonathan looking at him, and flexed his arms enough to make the muscles bulge menacingly. Jonathan whimpered in fear, and Gauth was heavily amused.

"And I've...recently picked up some tricks of the magical persuasion," Jayce smiled, indicating himself with a hand on his chest. "Nothin' fancy as a wizard, mind-"

"Bullshit!" Al spat, despite his stupor starting to dull his nerves. "This man took out an entire cave full of kobolds, almost thirty strong, by himself, without a scratch on him! He was wreathed in blue flame and everything!"

"Blue flame?" Jonathan asked, turning toward the half-orc man.

"Thirty kobolds?!" Zoe asked louder, obviously impressed. "How?!"

"Look, it ain't all that impressive," Jayce laughed nervously, his hands up as he scooted down the seat a little bit. "They were just fuckin' kobolds."

"Yeah, one or two aren't a threat, but thirty at once, and by yourself!" Zoe said in awe. "That's practically a feat!"

"Alright, enough! Like I said, some magic, but nothin' like a wizard," Jayce said, trying to move the conversation away from himself. "So that's us. If yer plannin' on joinin', we got some ground rules, pertainin' to pay and Dahlia's curse. Everyone gets their own coins, but ya gotta throw some into the party pot. That pays for meals and lodging, with anything else bein' out of your own pocket, including drinks if they ain't paired with the food. Clear?"

"Yep, and fair," Zoe said with a nod. "So, what are the ground rules about Dahlia?"

"First off, when her curse is gettin' the better of her, she's closed off. She won't hear you, and don't fuckin' touch her; that sets her off."

Jonathan rubbed his nose, which looked fine despite the previous blow. Gauth nodded to him in understanding.

"What seems to work is smell. We've been usin' cinnamon, and we each have a piece. I'd suggest gettin' a piece for yourselves to carry, just in case."

Zoe nodded, but Jonathan took on a thoughtful look.

"Second, she ain't a fan of touch. If ya don't announce yerself, or don't have permission to touch her, she assumes it's an attack."

"Fascinating," Zoe grumbled, already picturing how this particular rule was going to be an added challenge to her attempt at conquest. "I suppose she wants written permission, forms signed in triplicate? Is there a special friendship bracelet for the worthy?"

"Zoe, enough," Jonathan said, glaring at his sister. "Sorry, Jayce. Please continue."

Jayce waved it off. "It's fine. Third, this curse makes her doubt herself. If she talks down about herself, you gotta remind her it ain't true. If it goes on too long, it'll probably bring on an attack."

"Makes sense," Jonathan mumbled, going over some of his thoughts. This all sounded familiar.

"Anything else?" Zoe sighed.

Jayce nodded, his face grim. "Yes. She ain't really aware of what she's sayin' or doin' when the curse has a hold of her. She may ask you, beg you, to hurt or kill her. Just remember, it ain't her."

Zoe's face was twisted in shock and horror. "You've got to be kidding."

Jayce shook his head. "It makes her beg for death, remember? That includes from us."

Jonathan nodded. "These rules seem fair. I...know she already went up to her room, but is it alright if I talk to her?"

Everyone at the table suddenly turned toward him, making him stiffen from the sudden attention. If it wasn't for the fact that Zoe was giving him two sarcastic thumbs up, he probably would have retracted his statement.

"Why?" Gauth asked slowly, his voice dripping with suspicion.

"I-I just have some questions, that's all!" Jonathan stammered, putting on a nervous smile. "Due to my interest in the arcana; it's possible I could find some way to lessen the curse's hold, or determine some way to maybe break it in the future."

Gauth turned to his friends, feeling justified in his earlier endorsement of the new wizard, but Al and Jayce were not convinced.

"Not tonight. Let her sleep," Jayce said, crossing his arms. "You can talk to her tomorrow, providin' you actually want to travel with us."

"That's fair!" Zoe cut in quickly. "So, are we staying the night here, or…?"

It was obvious she trailed off the question because she wasn't expecting her brother or herself to head out of the Riversong. Jayce rolled his head back in annoyance. He had just purchased the third room, and he had really been looking forward to a quiet night by himself.

He stood up with a sigh. "Let me talk to Dahlia. I gotta figure out arrangements."

Zoe saw an opportunity and jumped at it. "If you want to split it up boys and girls, I can bunk with-"

"Absolutely not," Jayce hissed, far too annoyed to even deal with the thought. "Unless she says otherwise, she gets her own room."

Before anyone could say anything else, Jayce left the table and headed upstairs. He had not been expecting anything like this when he entered Westruun, and yet in a single day, Dahlia had managed to charm and accidentally recruit two people to her cause.

He thought back to the first day he met her. It was surprisingly similar. She literally fell over, and after a thoughtful act of kindness, he couldn't seem to leave her side.

Was this some sort of spell, or did she just have that effect on people?

Jayce arrived at room 3 and rapped against the door with his knuckle, only half expecting a reply. He didn't even feel tipsy anymore. What a waste of a beer.

"You can come in, Jayce."

Momentarily shocked, Jayce turned the handle and opened the door. "How'd ya know it was me?" he asked.

She was sitting on the right side bed, fidgeting with the hem of her glove. "I offered, remember? I thought you'd be here to collect."

"Damn, I completely forgot," Jayce mumbled, rubbing his face. "I came up to ask if ya didn't mind sharin' your room tonight. Those two ain't got a place to stay and I'm a little concerned about sharin' a room with Al again."

"What happened this time?" Dahlia asked with a soft chuckle. "Did he lock you out of the room again?"

Jayce shrugged and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "More like watched me, lookin' half dead in the process, and then nailed me in the back with the doorknob the next morning."

Dahlia sucked on her teeth. "Ow. Are you bruised?"

"Probably not." Jayce walked over and sat on the opposite bed, rather than the chair. It was closer. "Already had my armor on at that point."

There was a brief pause between them, and Jayce leaned on his knees, finding it surprisingly difficult to look a blind woman in the eye. She hadn't answered his question either, so he couldn't really just leave. Was it polite to remind her?

"Do...you want me to check?"

Jayce snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. "What?"

"Do you want me to check your back for a bruise, and possibly work on it again?" Dahlia asked, still fidgeting with her glove.

Jayce dropped his head in his hands. "Gods above, hell yes. It felt so fuckin' awkward to ask."

Dahlia giggled. "It's fine. I actually looked into it at the Cobalt Reserve; Turns out, there's a whole study of external muscle care called 'massage'. Admittedly, I didn't 'read' it myself, but it was a fascinating book."

"You're kidding!" Jayce said, unable to keep the excitement from his voice. "That's really a thing?"

"Yep," Dahlia smiled. "Since...I actually trust you, I was going to ask if you'd let me practice on you."

"You won't get a fuckin' complaint from me!" Jayce beamed. Then he remembered the people downstairs. "Oh, wait, before we get into anything, did ya mind sharin' a room? If it's a problem, I can bunk with Al and Gauth again, as the brother/sister pair downstairs'll probably take the third. I ain't all that keen on sharin' a room with people I just met, even if I ain't fond of sharin' space with Al."

"But...you did with Al, in Kymal," Dahlia said, obviously confused.

Jayce rolled his eyes, but smiled. "We'd been travelin' with them all day by that point. We literally just met those two downstairs."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry; I had met Elsa- I mean, Zoe at the Reserve, so I had a chance to talk to her," Dahlia sighed. "I...guess I could share my room. There are two beds, after all. And you did pay for it."

Jayce chuckled to himself. "Dahlia, ya don't have to share if you don't want to. The party paid for the room, not me. Although…" He knew she couldn't see her, but he still put on his winning smile. "It would be easier to practice if I didn't have t' go anywhere, right? Puttin' on the blindfold ain't even gonna be a problem."

"What's that phrase?" Dahlia giggled. "'You're as transparent as an open window'?"

Jayce laughed. "Sounds about right. Ya got me. I'm a bit desperate for a better bunk mate, and the perks ain't bad."

Dahlia's smile quickly faded. "Jayce, I do know I can trust you, and I want to...but I'm still... Please, I know you really want to sleep in here, but please just give me a few days. Then...then we can share. I promise."

Jayce was disappointed, but he did tell her she didn't have to share the room. He couldn't complain. "Right. Well, I'll head down and make sure nobody's bleeding, an' head back up for the practice. Sound good?"

"Yes, and Jayce?" Dahlia asked, still fidgeting with the hem of her glove. "Please apologize to Jonathan for me. I...don't think I hurt him, but if he is, please send him to me so I can heal or fix anything I did."

Jayce stood up and shrugged. "He looked fine t' me, but I'll ask."

"Thank you, Jayce," Dahlia said with a sweet smile. He paused, his own face softening as he looked at her. He tried to imagine what she looked like without the blindfold, without the hood, without the physical barriers she put between herself and the world...and then he noticed a smudged streak of white on the pad of her palm.

"Hey, Dahlia," Jayce said, his hand pausing before he gripped the doorknob, "what's that white stuff on your hand?"

Dahlia's head tilted in confusion. "What?" She lifted her hands to her face, sniffing audibly.

She went stiff. She knew what it was. Greasepaint. She must not have rubbed off everything from when she tried not to laugh in the bookshop. One moment of weakness, one touch of her face, and she was in danger of being discovered.

"I-I guess," she stammered, trying to think of a truthful answer. "I thi- I must have touched something I shouldn't have," she smiled, folding her hands into her lap. "Don't worry; they'll be clean by the time you get back. I'll use my magic to be sure."

Jayce didn't immediately answer and just watched her. He knew, due to her vow, she didn't lie to him, but he was also aware she hadn't told him the full truth. He wanted to ask deeper questions, something that would nudge her to eventually tell the whole truth, but his senses were already dulled by the alcohol and he was well aware she was quite intelligent. The second she clued in to his intentions, he wouldn't get another word out of her.

Instead, he played it off as if it wasn't a big deal. "Sounds fine. I'll see ya soon."

Dahlia visibly relaxed and nodded. "See you then."

He stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. Dahlia was truly odd. The white streak almost looked like paint, and familiar paint at that, but he couldn't think of where he had seen it before. It had to be recently; he was almost completely sure her gloves were clean just that morning at breakfast. Better yet, he knew they were clean since the herbalist shop, when he dropped her share of the gold directly in her hands. What could she have touched since then that would have colored her hands white?

He shook his head to clear it and returned downstairs. As usual, the tavern was populated mostly by humans, save the occasional interloper of a different race. He was absolutely not surprised to note there were no other half-orcs in attendance. After his reception at the Academy, he couldn't say he was shocked. It may have been a little over a week ago, but Yosxim's reaction at his claim to an education seemed entirely well founded.

Jayce walked back to the table where his friends and new companions were excitedly chattering away. Sparks of magic danced across the table, ducking between mugs and plates like living things as Jonathan mumbled in a strange tongue, his fingers dancing patterns through the air.

"Oh! John! John! Do the mouse thing!" Zoe almost shouted with joy and enthusiasm, nearly shaking the poor man. Since Jayce had left the table, she had slid into the seat next to her brother to more easily face her new potential traveling companions as they talked. And to torment her brother.

Johnathan rolled his eyes with a smile, then brought his fingertips to his lips. He whispered something between his fingers, then blew on them as if blowing a kiss across the table. A small bubble expanded as he spread his fingers apart, forming a small simplified face, ears, and a tail, before it leapt out of his hands and skittered across the table. A small mouse, made of light and stylized like a cartoonish drawing, leapt onto Zoe's arm and clambered into her hair, making her giggle as she tried in vain to catch it.

Jayce slid into an open seat, which happened to be next to Al, as Al and Gauth stared in amused awe. "Seems like you bunch are havin' fun," he smiled.

"Just showing off- John! Get this thing off me!" Zoe laughed, swatting at the mouse as it leapt from limb to limb far too easily to be real. The mouse leapt off her and dove into Gauth's mug, which caused the goliath to briefly panic and check to see if it was okay. As it was nothing but a trick of light and puppetry, it was indeed just fine, and popped its head out, nestling itself in such a way to look absolutely adorable.

"As I was saying," Zoe smirked, settling her robes back into place, "we were just showing off to your friends here to pass the time."

"Well, I was showing off," Johnathan said with a roll of his eyes. "You were spoiling all my tricks."

"I will not apologize for being excited," Zoe laughed. "Anyway, you got back just in time. We were about to ask about all of you."

"What about-" Al asked, pausing to burp into his fist, "the rooms tonight? Are you sleeping with, with us, or with Dahlia?"

"Nothin's changed. She's got her own room, I'm bunkin' with you fuckers," Jayce smirked, giving Al a light, backhanded smack on the arm. "You two are takin' the third room, bein' as yer siblings n' all. Now to be clear, we're goin' out on a limb for y'all tonight, so you better be pullin' yer weight tomorrow when we look for work. You hear me?"

"I gotta say, I can easily see who's in charge," Zoe chuckled, crossing her arms. "Interesting choice of leader."

Gauth rolled his eyes. "He is in charge of the coin. You are taking a room you did not pay for or earn, so he has a say in how you earn it. Simple."

"Yeah, we're more of a demograph… no, wait, that's not it…" Al once again grabbed his mug, checking to see if it was empty. As it was not a magical mug, it still was void of beer.

"A democracy?" Johnathan added, trying to be helpful.

"Yeah! That's it!" Al smiled, unconsciously waving slightly in his seat.

"I'm liking this group more with every minute," Zoe laughed under her breath. "But seriously, thank you for the room. I'm pretty sure they'd flay me alive if I went back now."

Johnathan nearly did a double take. "I thought you said you'd be fine!"

Zoe shrugged like it was hardly worth the effort. "Had my final warning last week. Oh well."

"Pardon me if this is outta line," Jayce said, leaning on the table, "but ain't monks supposed to be the good kids? You sound like yer a handful."

"Just a bad combination of itchy feet and a pretty intense disregard for authority," Zoe smirked, giving Jayce a tantalizingly dangerous eye. He had seen that look before in a man he once admired, his old captain, and he truly believed Zoe could be a force for chaos. If she was going to be on anyone's side, he would rather that side be his.

"So!" Zoe said with dramatic emphasis, leaning her elbows on the table as well. "Backstories. You all have them, and I want to hear them."

As if choreographed, Al and Gauth both turned to Jayce at once, and in response he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Ain't much to say. I'm a retired sailor, traveled most of the Lucidian Ocean an' the Ozmit Sea. Found out I had magic, met Dahlia and these two in Kymal, and eventually came here."

Jayce then leaned heavily on one elbow, clearly putting Al on the spot with a smirk and a pointed look. It took Al a minute to realize why Jayce was staring at him, and he managed to keep any flirtatious remarks to himself.

"I'm from Syngorn, originally," Al said, puffing himself up like he was someone important. "I'm not exactly a noble per say, more noble-adjacent-"

Zoe had to cover her mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter. Jonathan also chuckled, but said nothing.

"Anyway!" Al huffed, annoyed at the interruption, "My mother is a full-blood elf, and an ambassador to the Tal'Dorei Council. Beyond that, I had a talent for finding secrets, so I'm out in the world, collecting them."

Al finished with a drunken smile, and it was quite clear he wouldn't be upright for much longer. Gauth chuckled under his breath and started propping up his friend.

"I came from the Cliffkeep Mountains," Gauth began. "I traveled with my herd along the peaks, following the game and our traditions. I bested many of my brothers and sisters, but yet some would still best me. I could not learn why I could not beat them, as I knew I was stronger, so I traveled south, with the intent of reaching Whitestone. It was there I met an awful man who claimed to be the smartest, and he fooled me, and Al, for quite some time."

"Hey-hey-hey! I was not fooled! I was coerced!" Al slurred.

Gauth shrugged, as he didn't know what that was, but he assumed it was another word for "fooled". "In Kymal, we met Jayce and Dahlia, and originally planned to kill them-"

"Wait what?!" Zoe cut in, her jaw almost on the table. "You tried to kill them?!"

"Let's just say they were hired by a rival of our employer," Jayce said with a smug smile.

Zoe sat back on the bench. "Huh. Wow. Do continue."

"There isn't much more to say. Jayce and Dahlia proved the better people, and so we quit Yosxim and joined them. I haven't regretted it so far, and I've learned quite a bit about words and math."

"Plan is to teach 'im to read, too," Jayce said with a smile.

"Mostly so he doesn't get lost!" Al giggled, landing a very heavy hand on Jayce's shoulder. It was almost enough to knock Jayce out of his seat.

"Okay, that sounds like a story," Jonathan said with a chuckle. "Who got lost?"

Jayce hung his head and raised a weak hand as Al started laughing.

"This asshole!" Al wheezed through his laughter. "He took the Silvercut Roadway from Stilben and ended up in Kymal!"

Zoe looked at Jayce with utter disbelief. "How the hell did you pull that off?!"

Jayce mumbled something about growing up on the sea, not on land, but it was practically missed due to the laughter of Al and Gauth at his expense.

"I immediately claim all map duties," Zoe said, with such an air of serious gravity that it was assumed she found the matter extremely grave. In truth, she was laughing inside, but she was hoping to butter up her new potential boss by not calling him out on his ridiculous mistake.

"Seriously, that might not be a bad idea," Johnathan added, suppressing his own laughter. "Cartography is a hobby of hers."

"What is cartography?" Gauth asked.

"The study and creation of maps," Johnathan said, smiling at the goliath. "You'd be surprised how inaccurate some maps can be these days."

"Oh my gods it's so fucking annoying!" Zoe whined, throwing her head back in frustration. "I mean, is it really that hard to keep a mile consistent?!"

"And on that note, I'm gonna hit the sack," Jayce said with an awkward laugh. "G'night, and rest well. Whatever tomorrow brings, it's bringin' work, so don't fuck around down here too long."

"Aye-aye, boss," Zoe beamed, throwing Jayce a wink and a mock salute as he rose from the table. "See you tomorrow!"

Jayce rolled his eyes and tossed her the key to room ten, then turned and headed back upstairs. If Dahlia's "practice" was going to be anything like that time in the mine, he couldn't wait to get started.