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.

18. Alabaster Snow

The morning after the Hazel Festival was crisp and cold, and still choked with the scent of charcoal and pine from the late-burning bonfires of the night before. The streets were muted and empty, mostly from the revelers sleeping off their hangovers, but there was a small gathering of those personally touched by a group of travelers who were about to head out of town. In just a few days, tales of selfless acts, moral integrity, and incredible constitution had spread through Turst Fields, from the lowest class of workers to the ruling council of the small city.

This assemblage of people was what greeted the traveling friends as they exited the Nutty Knob that morning, refreshed and ready for a week on the road. As soon as the morning light touched them all, Sir Kalen stepped forward with an extended hand which clasped Jayce's in a solid handshake.

"Let me formally thank you and your posse for your work on behalf of Turst Fields," he began as Jayce stammered through an unheard hello. "Though we had only met in passing during the festival, I've already heard several good things about you."

Jayce's brain finally caught up with everything that just happened while the others crowded behind him in front of the Nutty Knob. He smiled warmly and returned the handshake with confidence.

"Pleasure's mine, sir. You got a wonderful town; it was an honor helpin' such good n' honest folk," Jayce said.

Sir Kalen's smile grew with more pride as he clasped his hands behind his back and stood tall and straight. "It has also come to my attention that you have been given no compensation for this work."

Jayce tried to wave it off even as Al gave him a proactive elbow jab of warning in the back. "No need, sir. We got enough to keep us comfortable; we can afford goin' pro bono. 'Sides, didn't seem right takin' money from a few folks who lost their little girl."

Sir Kalen nodded, his smile taking on an almost mischievous note as he spoke. "While I have heard of that, it was not the only act of kindness your company has made in our city. I have also heard of the ghouls you cleared from the cemetery, the owlbears you killed and then even tracked into the Parchwoods to fully dispatch their young, and even a young man who you had saved from the wilds southwest of here to find a home among our fields."

Jayce let out a good-natured laugh. "Put like that, it's a wonder we got any sleep!" he joked.

A smattering of giggles rippled through the small crowd as Sir Kalen motioned for someone to step up. Barely visible behind a folded pelt, Simon jogged up to his father's side and proudly held out the owlbear fur in front of him.

"The first of several gifts," Sir Kalen clarified. "The other was quite damaged during your rescue of our butcher, but this one was in good shape. It has been tanned, so it will not go bad in your travels. May it keep you warm in the coming winter, or bring you coin should you choose to sell it."

Gauth gleefully grabbed the pelt from Simon and immediately threw it over his shoulders, the owlbear's head, minus its jaw, landing perfectly upon his own head like the laurel from the night before. While most of the pelt was in good shape, the damage from Jayce's eldritch bolt the previous evening had blackened the eye and burned the feathery fur in an intimidating streak, to which the giantkin immediately took a liking. Gauth easily hooked the paws through the belts across his chest and struck a heroic pose, grinning with pride as the gathered crowd cheered their approval.

"Pretty clear someone's already a fan of that one," Jayce said through an amused grin. "Thank ya kindly for yer thoughtful gift."

"Oh, I'm not done," Sir Kalen said brightly. Simon pulled off his backpack at his father's nodded signal and pulled out a large sack of coins, about eight pounds, that jangled and clattered as he awkwardly shifted the sack in his paw-like hands. Jayce quickly grabbed the bag, more to stabilize the young man then take the sack, and glanced at Sir Kalen for approval before he moved farther.

"That, sirs and madams, is three-hundred gold. Two for the original bounty against the owlbears, for which your companions went above and beyond last night during the festival, and extra thrown in by those you see gathered," Sir Kalen explained with a bow of respect. "I apologize that it is not all in gold coins, but think of it as having correct change for the foreseeable future."

Jayce shifted the sack of coins into his own arms and looked in awe over the people gathered. They were not faces he recognized, literal strangers, and yet he did not feel endangered. It was an almost overwhelming sensation that threatened to break him.

Then a hand rested on his arm, before gently slipping through to hook her arm in his. As he looked toward her, Dahlia smiled. He felt his heart calm immediately at the knowledge that she was proud of him. Her smile almost seemed to say that she was happy others could finally see what she already knew.

He took a second to steady himself and then turned back to the mayor and those gathered around him. "Sir, I ain't gonna take this money in good conscience-"

Once again, Al nudged him, hard, in the back with enough force to briefly knock the wind out of him. Jayce coughed and recovered, but made no attempt to hide shooting Al a dirty look to explain the interruption.

"As I was sayin', I ain't gonna take this money unless I know the lady butcher n' Crissy's parents are gonna be taken care of," Jayce said quickly. "Both of 'em lost a child, and that ain't a fate I'd wish on anyone."

"Around the holiday, no less," Bera added under her breath. She couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child, but she could only assume it was similar to the loss of a grandparent she had once been fond of.

Sir Kalen put a hand on his heart and nodded to Jayce. "You have my word that they will be given whatever help we can give, and time to grieve for those they lost. You are truly a noble heart, Sir Jayce, and your companions."

Simon leaned over, posted on his tip-toes, to whisper something into his father's ears. Sir Kalen nodded. "Ah. That's right. The Sins of Men."

Jayce blinked and then immediately made the connection. "Yes! Exactly. What we seek to root out and destroy, we hunt the Sins of Men. That's us."

The hair on the back of his neck went stiff as Jayce could feel all of his companions slowly turn to stare at him. Jayce pasted on what was probably his worst crowd-pleasing smile as he silently prayed his friends wouldn't kill him.

"You are always welcome here, Sins of Men," Sir Kalen continued. "Safe travels and good fortune to you all!"

The crowd cheered in agreement and followed the group until they were situated in their cart, and even followed them for nearly a block, waving and wishing them safe travels along the Alabaster Trail. Zoe returned the heart-felt sentiments with waves of her own, coupled with flashes of her roguish smile, but only until interest in them had waned.

As soon as they were free from attention, Zoe whirled on Jayce, who was clearly trying to avoid eye contact with everyone in the cart.

"The Sins of Men?! I can't tell if that's worse!" she yapped, jerking toward Jayce hard enough to make him flinch.

"Better then a pun," Al grumbled. Bera snickered under her breath at his pout but went back to tuning her lyre instead of engaging.

"Look, it's either that, or admit to a whole fuckin' crowd that I screwed up and said 'cinnamon' in front of the registrar at the guild," Jayce said with a wince. "I was playin' with that damn stick while I was thinkin' on the name, alright? It just slipped out."

"So you said," Zoe huffed. She crossed her arms and sat down hard next to her brother, where Puffpaw immediately took the opportunity to climb into her lap and purr for pets. Zoe automatically obliged. "Really, was The Guides of Karma so bad?!" she spat.

"Bit of a mouthful…" Jayce mumbled. "That aside, we ain't made a name for ourselves just yet. There's always a chance to change it."

Zoe barely restrained a scream of frustrated rage before she threw an accusatory finger at Jayce. "It was your fucking idea!"

"Yep, both of 'em, and they were both shit!" Jayce spat back. "Yet another reason why I ain't yer boss!"

"Hey-hey-hey, settle…!" Bera chided. She shoved her lyre into her bag and then stood between them all. "Jayce is right, but only partly. You do have a chance to change your name, but not in Turst Fields. Those people will always remember you as 'the hunters of sins of men'. Nice spin on that, roadwise," she said with a wink at Jayce. She then turned to face him completely. "That said, it is a little...heavy handed, and limiting. That kind of name will have different jobs avoid us, like the missing girl from earlier, or even beasts. People might think we're assassins-for-hire."

Zoe crossed her arms again and huffed at Jayce, clearly validated. Jayce rolled his eyes and shifted the coin sack from his lap to the cart floor to avoid causing another fight.

"However," Bera said, as she turned to Zoe, "The 'Guides of Karma' makes you sound like a bunch of self-righteous idiots."

Al sputtered a laugh hard enough to make Gauth nearly twist completely around to pay more attention to the conversation, and Jonathan slowly scooted away from his sister the second he noticed her eye twitching. Puffpaw, her ears flat and her eyes wide, made a stealthy escape from the young woman's lap as it was clear her temper was about to flare.

Bera, however, was undeterred. With a hand outstretched toward the heavens, she began to orate as if for an invisible audience at an imaginary theatre. "Ladies and gentlemen, on this night, before your very eyes, we present the heroic deeds of the Guides of Karma, a band of mercenaries from the Dividing Plains!" With that said, she returned to her normal stance and looked over them all. "Now that you know how that sounds, listen to this." Once again, she adopted the professional orator's pose. "Ladies and gentlemen, on this night, before your very eyes, we present the heroic deeds of the Karmic Knights!" Bera allowed a short pause to let the words sink in before she glanced over those seated around her. "Now, what would you prefer? The first one or the second one?"

Zoe gripped her arms, slowly tensed her shoulders, and growled, "The second one," through clenched teeth as she continued to glare at Bera.

Bera looked satisfied and planted her hands on her hips. "Now I'll tell you why. It follows the 'rule of three', it's closer to your actual ideals, and it explains who you are without me adding in the whole 'mercenaries from the Diving Plains' spiel. However, it still makes you sound pompous because it assumes you have more authority to morally judge someone than they do. People don't like that."

Zoe deflated and slumped forward. "...You're right. Fuckballs."

Bera nodded and crossed her arms. "And now for the part where my theater degree finally makes sense," she mumbled to herself. She hopped backward, up next to Gauth on the driver's seat, and struck yet another pose, one of authority, with her feet planted wide and her fists on her hips. Bera locked eyes with all of them in turn and confirmed that they were watching and paying attention...and then had to remind herself that Dahlia was blind and wasn't making eye contact because it was literally impossible for her to do so without a massive dose of luck.

"Time to give you a bard's perspective on team names! You want something simple, something that does not need an explanation, something unique to you. There are exceptions to each of these rules, of course, but we're going to start there." She pointed to Al, who was the unfortunate soul sitting closest to the diver's end of the cart. "Al! We're starting with you and then going around. Tell me about a memorable fight or moment with the team."

"Well…" Al mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. As soon as his fingers brushed it, he felt the scar between his shoulder blades twinge. It would be better if he didn't mention any of his underworld dealings. "Jayce managed to turn around a really desperate card game and get us a ton of money...which he still won't share, by the way," he added, forcefully hitting the words as he glared at Jayce. Jayce just rolled his eyes and started pawing through the bag of coins from the owlbear bounty.

Bera nodded and rubbed her chin in thought. "Okay. Jonathan! You're next. Favorite moment with the team."

Jonathan fidgeted with his thumbs as he thought for a moment. "This...may sound stupid, but it was when I first met Dahlia. It was in a bookstore. Not knowing who I was or why I needed help, she gave me her canteen with some sort of...mix in it to revitalize me and give me strength. I didn't even know her name until much later that day."

Bera nodded again and gave it some deep thought. Two was a coincidence, not a pattern. "Right. Zoe! You're up."

Zoe leaned on her knees and tapped at the side of her face as she thought it over. "Um… Oh! Right before we fought those ankhegs, Jayce fell into the hole! Remember that?"

"Yeah, nearly busted up my arm," Jayce huffed. "What about it?"

Zoe shrugged. "Where I was standing, it was like, there's Jayce, and vwoop! Disappeared! It was kinda funny." Before Jayce could respond how it very much was not funny, Zoe nearly bounced as she realized something else. "Oh! And there was teaching Gauth how to handstand! He almost got it, too!"

Gauth beamed at the memory. "I forgot! I will learn to handstand soon!" he said brightly.

Bera continued her mental notes as there came a lull in the conversation. Next in line was Dahlia, seated next to Jayce at the side of the cart. "Dahlia, your turn. What's your favorite memory of this group?"

Dahlia rubbed at her arms as if she was cold, and her face turned away, low and embarrassed. "It's...not exactly dramatic or unique. I just...like hearing you all talk. In the evenings, when we're sharing a meal together, hearing everyone's voices is just...good."

Her shoulders drooped as she lowered her head. "I'm sorry. That's probably no help."

It wasn't, but Bera wasn't about to admit that. "You've just got different favorites, that's all. Okay! Jayce, favorite team moment."

Jayce ran his hand through his hair and leaned back on the cart wall. "Hmm… Gotta be Trebuchet," he said through a smile.

The group started to giggle in response, although Dahlia instead gave Jayce a disbelieving look. "Why?" she asked.

"You landed that on your first fuckin' shot," Jayce laughed. "Literally throwin' blind and you showed us up. Damn funny, no matter who you are."

"I guess...if you put it that way," Dahlia said with a shy smile. "Bera, is any of this helping?"

"Of course it is," Bera said, careful to avoid sounding sarcastic during her distraction of thinking through options. "I'm starting to see a pattern here, but we've got one more. Gauth, what's your favorite team memory?"

"Telling Yoxsim to shove it," Gauth said with a smirk.

The way Gauth said that clearly implied a bigger backstory, and Bera's curiosity was immediately roused. "Okay, that's a story, and I want to hear it," she said, hopping down to the cart to join the audience. "Please tell us everything!"

"And I was there for it," Al snickered. "Oooh it was good though."

"Who's Yoxsim?" Zoe asked, to which her brother nodded his desire to know as well. Bera was about to give her best guess when Jayce cut in.

"A fool-born shallow fart-handler with more confidence than smarts or sense," Jayce said with a huff. He crossed his arms and threw up his chin as if he was looking down at the man in question at that very moment. "That annoyin' smegger implied Dahlia slept around for scraps, and called me monster-born right to my fuckin' face."

"Oh please don't stop," Zoe giggled. "You can bet your ass I'm taking notes!"

"What about when you told Yoxsim to 'shove it'?" Jonathan asked. Puffpaw chirruped her own curiosity that mirrored her master from his lap.

Gauth quickly checked that the horses were still on the road out of Turst Fields and then turned around in the driver's seat. "I am not a storyteller like Bera or Jayce, but I will tell my best. We had just eaten food after being paid, but there was more food to come. Yoxsim was eh...small person, but not halfling-"

"Gnome," Al grumbled. "Asshole personified otherwise."

Gauth nodded. "I thought he was my teacher, but he was very clever. He taught me many times with no teaching. He was not my teacher, but my...eh… Al, what is the name for a keeper of slaves?"

Al rolled his eyes. "A slave master, usually. But Gauth's right, he was practically that. He conned me out of something precious and dangled it in front of my face to keep me on a line, so neither of us could speak up against him."

"What an asshole!" Zoe said, her face agape in shock and disgust.

Al nodded. "You got it. Then along comes Jayce and Dahlia, and they practically- No, wait, Yoxsim blamed them for stealing the job, but that was all him, wasn't it?"

Gauth nodded in agreement. "He was very rude."

"Hind-sight is clearest, as they say," Al mumbled. "Anyway, we got hired to kill those two by a rival of the first job poster, and long story short, we ended up joining teams. By the time we got to town-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hang on," Jonathan said, a hand up to physically stop the conversation. "You started out trying to kill them, and then you joined them?! How does that happen?"

"Okay you want the whole story or not? And Gauth, fuckin' drive, will you?" Al snapped. The cart had drifted too close to the edge of the street on Al's side, and the shouts of disgruntled street vendors were quite distracting.

Gauth huffed in annoyance but complied, and as he did so, Al found himself regaling the entire story of when they first met Jayce and Dahlia in Kymal. By the time they had reached the edge of the Parchwood Timberlands beyond the northern edge of Turst Fields, Al and Gauth had successfully recounted the entire mine adventure, up to the point of sharing the post-payment meal.

"Now, I don't remember much of the conversation, but there's a line I'll never forget," Al said. As much as he hated being put in the spotlight, he had to admit that the rapt attention from his companions was rather fun. "Yoxsim made some stupid comment about Jayce and Dahlia being lovers, and she goes 'just because I need to touch the world to see doesn't mean I fuck everything I touch!' and stormed out of there like the wrath of the Divine had lit a fire in her boots."

"Day-um, Dahlia! That's gotta be the strongest words I've ever heard you use!" Zoe gasped. She did a slow clap and spoke with awe and a goofy smile. "Bravo! Seriously, that asshole had it coming!"

Dahlia blushed, flustered, and turned away from them. "He was...very tiring to deal with."

"At the very least!" Bera said. "So, finally, the culmination of the story, what'd you two say to quit his employ?"

Gauth held up a hand and traced the tattoos across his face. "In my herd, when we are Named, we gain our marks. I took the stew and slapped it on Yoxsim's face, and said, 'I name you, Asshole Who Speaks.' Then I left."

The comment was so simple, and so plainly presented, that most present burst out laughing or worked hard to suppress the sudden burst of mirth. "Oh man!" Zoe wheezed. "If only those were permanent! And people knew what it meant, of course."

Bera patted Zoe's arm with a giggle of her own. "We'll know. The moment we see him again, we know exactly how to greet him."

That, of course, caused yet more laughter. It took quite some time before they calmed down enough to get back to the task at hand.

"So, now that I've heard some gems of memories, back to picking a team name," Bera smiled. She hopped back up to her feet and stood in the middle of the cart. "But first, I have to ask; what's with the cinnamon?"

"Its a way of breaking her...episodes, for lack of a better term, when the curse flairs up," Jonathan explained. "We've all got a piece on us. Except you, I guess."

"Right… You've mentioned that before…" Bera said. "So, if I had to pick a theme from your memories, it's actually what Dahlia talked about. Being friends together, and lending a hand, and honestly, you all have a symbol of that with you."

"I swear to the gods if you tell us we should be called the Cinnomen-!" Zoe seethed.

Bera smirked with such smugness that Zoe found herself unable to finish the thought. "Actually," she said with that same smile, "I was thinking 'the Ceylon Seven.'"

"Okay, and how's the fuck that fit?" Jayce asked.

"It's a type of cinnamon," Bera giggled. "Otherwise, there's seven of us, there's an audible alliteration even if the letters don't match up, and it represents your connection with each other. Plus, 'ceylon' sounds exotic. People will start asking questions, wanting to hear more, and I can guarantee you no one else will have a similar name. It's perfect."

"And similar to 'cinnamon'," Jonathan added with a smile. "It'll be pretty easy to change without anyone asking too many questions."

Bera winked at him. "Exactly. So, there you go. We're the Ceylon Seven."

Dahlia immediately perked up. "Does that mean you're staying?"

Bera flinched but then hesitated. "Um…for now. And if I do leave, you could always count the cat."

Puffpaw chirruped her approval and puffed out her chest, to which Jonathan snickered. "Well, we have Lady Puffpaw's approval. I guess that means it's the team name whether we like it or not."

There was some protest, especially from Al, but all in all, it was a better name than the alternative. Bera, in an attempt to solidify the meaning, had them all brandish their sticks of cinnamon in the air and call out the name, and while it felt somewhat silly, no one could deny the sense of comradeship that grew between them.

xXxXx

Four days had passed in the looming mists of the Parchwood Timberlands. The heavy mist clung to them all like pine pitch, bleeding the color from their days and deepening their nights. Multiple times, when they set up along the side of the road to camp, Gauth reminded his companions that anything less than a magical fire would have been choked to death in the thick fogs that sapped the warmth from their bones.

"Best fuckin' money I ever spent," Jayce stammered as he shivered, rubbing his arms vigorously as he inched even closer to the fire. He glanced over the others as the enchanted flame sputtered and crackled through the darkening haze. Just an hour earlier, they had been ambushed by a creature that seemed to be a cross between a humanoid and a arachnoid, riding a giant spider with a nearly black face and banded legs, and surrounded by swarms of the eight-legged creatures. Jonathan's magic had been especially useful in destroying the larger groups of the small beasts, but once again, it came down to Gauth taking the brunt of the attacks for the others to dispatch the rider and its mount.

"You didn't even fucking pay for it," Al grumbled. He had been trying to remove webbing from his knives for the past twenty minutes with no success, and had finally given up and held the blades in the fire. He slowly twisted the blackened blades to check if the webbing was finally gone. It wasn't. "It was a thank-you for Dahlia saving that one enchanter's wife and baby, remember? If anything, she bought it with her skills."

"Speaking of," Bera said quietly, her voice tense and small as she shuddered through the fear brought by recent memories, "do you think Kake will make it?"

As before, the group had been huddled under the tarp, mostly to avoid as much of the clinging fog as possible as they traveled. As such, the spider creature had targeted the easiest meat it could see. Eple and Kake had been beset by the beasts in scant seconds, and could not run as they were still lashed to the wagon shaft. Thankfully, Eple had been spared most of the attack due to the speed at which the others leapt to the rescue, but Kake was grievously hurt. Dahlia had applied her magic and skill to the horse, but she had warned them all that her expertise was better suited for humanoids; she could not say if the horse would live to see morning.

"I know he will try," Gauth hissed through clenched teeth. His rage had been severe during the attack, and the others were still unsure if he had returned from his bloodlust. It was no secret among them that he loved those horses. "Dahlia will help him."

"As much as she can, anyway…" Bera shivered. She hated spiders with a passion and her fear of them nearly made her useless in the fight. Even in the calm after the attack, her skin crawled with thousands of imaginary legs that threatened to make her scream.

Jonathan hesitated before placing a hand on Gauth's arm. "Zoe's helping, so the extra hands and a set of eyes are in Kake's favor."

Thankfully, the best scenario came to pass, and Gauth simply ignored Jonathan's attempt to console him.

More time crawled by in that damning fog, pressing them all in closer and closer to the fire. Dry rations were barely welcome as they chewed on jerky and preserved nuts and grains.

"Ugh. I practically get a full drink of water with every mouthful," Al groaned. "This fog is ridiculous."

"Ya got that right," Jayce grumbled. He spared a moment to pray to Pelor that the sun would actually shine in the morning. He wasn't sure his spirit would last, otherwise. Especially with the nightmares being relentless as of late. He was so tired, and there was at least another four or five days before they reached the gates of Whitestone. It seemed so far away, even if the physical distance was barely longer than the road from Westruun to Turst Fields.

"Coming up!" Zoe called out. While they all flinched, it was clear they appreciated the verbal warning before she simply materialized out of the mist. Zoe made her way over to her brother and sat next to him, her hand wraps clearly stained in blood. "First thing's first, Kake's still alive. He's pretty strong."

Gauth nodded, his neck tense and his jaw tight. It truly was a shame that some creatures only died once. "Good."

"That said," Zoe sighed as she slumped over, her fingers numbly pulling at her wrist wraps to remove them, "Dahlia's pretty sure there was some sort of venom in the spider bites. He's not...aware or something, like she'd expect him to. She's giving him something that might help a horse, but she said we should pack up and try to hit the road with Kake in the cart and the rest of us walking."

"Why?" Al asked. "It's practically nightfall already anyway. What's a few miles going to do?"

"That's the thing," Zoe said as she looked at Al. "Dahlia said she could smell pastries. She thinks there's an inn nearby."

"How the fuck is her senses so damn good?" Jayce mumbled to himself. Sometimes it seemed more magical than mundane, and a glance about those gathered confirmed the others thought the same. "Well, I ain't one to doubt her. Gauth, you gonna need help gettin' Kake in the cart?"

Gauth stood up without a word and disappeared into the mist, curls of fog slowly settling in the void he left behind.

"...Yeah, let him do that on his own," Al said when the silence began to prickle his skin. "Trust me; the best way to help him work through his rage is to let him actually work on something."

"He gets damn scary in a fight though," Zoe puffed, her knees pulled up to her chin now that the bloody wraps had been removed. She'd clean them later. "Man, when that horse squealed...I thought we were all gonna die."

"He wouldn't go that far," Jonathan added quickly, although he couldn't hide the nervous laugh. Then he paused and turned to Al with clear dread on his face. "He wouldn't, right?"

Al winced and bit his lip as he looked at the fire instead of Jonathan. "There's...a few times that Gauth got so deep into a rage that he nearly took it out on me. He's a great guy, but when he loses it… Just step back and stay out of range."

"Got it…" Jonathan whimpered. He wished he could hug his cat, but Puffpaw had been miserable in the fog and he had sent her to a pocket dimension to follow them beyond the reach of the elements. He could feel her presence was close, but he couldn't actually touch her. He missed her comfort, and that strange smell of magic he could sometimes sense when he breathed deeply while his face was in her fur.

The cart creaked and rattled in the fog as Gauth clearly set Kake within it, and within a moment, Dahlia stepped into the small circle of light illuminated by the magical campfire. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but we should move. If there is a stablehand at the tavern, or even a traveling ranger, Kake's chances will be much better than with just my skills alone."

"We're goin', we're goin'," Jayce grunted as he stood from the ground. Somehow, the cold had seeped into his knees, and stretching his legs felt both stiff and uncomfortable. "Still shocked you can smell anythin' in this damn fog though. 'S thicker'n grits."

Dahlia actually took a moment and wrung her hands. "It's...not- Remember how I mentioned what divine magic smells like?"

Those present paused as they tried to remember, but it was Jonathan who spoke first. "Wait, like bread and warmth, right?"

"That's actually closer to what I smell," Dahlia said with a nod to Jonathan. "It smells like pastries, but...more like how I expect divine magic to smell, instead of baked goods. I believe we're actually close to holy ground, which would be safer than the road anyway."

"Good enough for me," Jayce said. "So, with Kake in the cart, think Eple's gonna be strong enough to pull?"

"Oh easily, especially since Gauth lashed himself to the other harness and will pull with her," Dahlia said simply. The others shared an unseen look of shock before they stumbled through unsurprised responses of their own, which Dahlia noticed and then realized exactly how absurd her comment must have sounded. She swallowed her awkwardness and ignored it, choosing instead to find the cart before it moved without her.

To avoid getting lost from the cart, everyone walked beside it, one hand upon the planks, except for Bera, who sat on the driver's seat to avoid being accidentally caught under the wheels. It was actually Dahlia who offered her the seat, and she took it gladly; Truthfully, Dahlia had noticed Bera's freeze response during the fight, and wanted her in a place where she could easily duck for cover if another attack happened between their temporary campsite and the possible tavern.

As the fire still had several hours to burn on the magical campfire, Jayce held it ahead of them and walked in front, blazing a way through the fog that threatened to swallow the road at his feet. He struggled to keep track of the edges, and shivered each time the trees bent in close enough to poke their twig-like fingers through the limit of the fire's light. It truly made him wonder if spindly creatures were hovering above them, waiting for his attention to slip just long enough for them to snatch any of his friends as they followed the light he carried blindly into the fog. As much as Jayce tried to put on a brave face, the thought was terrifying and persistent, and it began to crack the edges of his mask before he finally caught a glimpse of something in the fog.

"Lights! I see lights!" Jayce called back. Sure enough, some unknown distance into the fog, warm, yellow lights flickered and danced ahead and to the right of the road. There was a palpable sense of relief as the others began to notice too, until Bera spoke.

"And we're sure they're not will-o-wisps, right? And we're not walking to our deaths?" she asked, her voice shaking with fear.

"Well, now I'm not sure!" Al snapped. "Thanks, Bera! Real fucking useful!"

"Stop it! She's scared! We all are!" Dahlia snapped back. "There's a reason most people travel this road in armed caravans, Al. We may be adventurers, but we're the exception here!"

"Hang on, I got a sign!" Jayce called back. He took careful steps forward and held up the clicking disk, and just peeking out of the mist was a wooden sign hanging on a post by chains. A silver sword hilt, placed upon a braid of vines, sat in the center of a deep green sign emblazoned with "Sword of Vines" in flowing script around it. "Says...Sword of Vines. That's gotta be a tavern."

"You still getting that smell?" Jonathan asked, his whole torso turned toward Dahlia despite refusing to remove his hand from the cart.

Dahlia nodded emphatically. "Yes, and it's a lot stronger now. It's a mix of both magic and actual pastries, I'm sure of it!"

"Then there will be food!" Al almost cheered. "Warm, real food instead of this road...crap."

"Then why're we waitin' around? Let's go!" Jayce said brightly. Just the mention of baked goods had everyone's spirits bolstered with hope, and their steps were more confident as they continued. Thankfully, within a stone's throw of the sign, Jayce was able to spot a cobblestone path that led away from the road in the direction of the much more stable lights, and it took nearly all their willpower to keep from running. At this point, even their senses, dampened by the fog, could detect the smell of warm butter and yeasted breads, spiced vegetables and fragrant stews, and, as if they were touched by a divine sense of calm, the fear of the Parchwood Timberlands began to melt away.

As if they had entered another world, the fog suddenly melted away, revealing an overgrown courtyard with thick lines of moss bulging out from between the cobblestones, and what was once a fountain immediately catching their attention. Despite the cold, the fountain was filled with flowering bushes and uniquely colored plants, ranging from a frosted green to reds and vibrant purples. Ivy clung to the building behind the fountain in heavy mats, with large swaths of the tavern a deep forest green as warm light peeked through the windows. Everything glittered in moonlight, as Catha was waxing toward full, and the fog had left behind blankets of frosted dew upon the leaves.

To the left of the obvious tavern was a stable, and upon hearing Kake whinny in pain, the group immediately made their way over. As they arrived, a woman was trimming wicks from the oil lamps that kept the stable bright and welcoming, and she twisted to watch them as Gauth dropped the wagon shaft and stepped forward. Before they could speak, she drew a short sword and brandished it with one hand.

"Might wanna step back, fucker, or you'll be singin' your tune out of your neck," she hissed. It was at this point that they finally got a good look at her; Her reddish-brown hair was slicked to her right, with her hair shaved nearly to the skin on her left, and her bare arms were thick with muscle and scars. Even within the safety of this strange tavern ground, she made no attempt to hide the studded leather armor and furs she clearly wore for protection. Gauth immediately put up his hands and stepped back, just in time for Jayce to step forward.

"No offense meant, ma'am. We're a little desperate for help," Jayce said smoothly, his hands visible and a disarming smile on his face. "Some spider thing jumped us on the road, and we're in danger of losin' our horse. Can you help?"

The woman's face relaxed, and immediately took on a resting face of annoyance and irritation. She sheathed the sword with ease and turned to start rooting through a nearby crate. "Fuckin' bastards… Bet you a gold piece it was a fuckin' ettercap again. Those shitheads have been attacking convoys more and more often lately, almost like something's drawing them to the area." She produced a large metal tin that she pried open with no effort. "And...we're good on salve. Where's the horse?"

Jayce had to blink at how fast her demeanor changed in that conversation. "Uh, in the cart. Thank you kindly, in advance, ma'am."

The woman harumphed and pushed her way through the others to climb into the cart. As soon as she pulled the tarp off the belabored horse, she curled her nose in disgust. "Shit. Definitely ettercaps. They got your horse good."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume ettercaps look like the unholy cross between a spider and a man," Al mumbled, mostly to himself but loud enough that someone could potentially confirm his comment. As he hoped, the woman obliged.

"You got it," she grunted as she dodged Kake's pathetic attempts to fend off the stranger. Eple whinnied and chuffed, stamping at the ground as she worried for her brother, but thankfully a few kind words from Gauth and the act of petting her mane helped her calm down.

Al nodded, satisfied, but Jayce had to clarify. "Excuse me, ma'am, those...ettercaps, they like ridin' spiders?"

"And herding hordes of the eight-legged fuckin' creeps," the woman said, her attention clearly on the horse. "You guys got names? Or am I makin' everything up when I introduce you to the missus later?"

"Wait, missus? You mean your wife?" Al asked, clearly shocked, before anyone could stop him.

The woman slammed the tin to the floor of the cart and whirled on him, her blade drawn in the blink of an eye. "Yes, my fuckin' wife, you piece of shit! And if you make any trouble for her, I will personally flay you alive and feed your entrails to the pigs, you got that?!"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Jayce yelped as he leapt between them. "You gotta excuse our friend, here; he's fuckin' rude on the best of days, and didn't mean a lick of it. We ain't got a problem with you or your wife, seein' as there ain't nothin' wrong with marryin' for love and you're givin' us a mighty big favor that we plan on repayin'."

The woman glared between Jayce and Al, seconds stretching into tense moments, before she finally huffed and shoved the sword back in the sheath. She kneeled back to the horse and began slathering on the neutralizing salve.

"The name's Audria. Audria Kemrys," she grunted. "My wife's Caidove. She runs the tavern, I got the stable and the training ring downstairs."

"Training ring?" Zoe asked. "Since when do taverns get training rings?"

"Since 'take it outside' usually ended up in half the fight gettin' carried off by monsters. It's a whole fuckin' mess." Audria huffed. "You wanna take a round? Meet me downstairs. After you get fed. Caidove keeps harpin' that it's cheating if I fight someone on an empty stomach."

As much as Audria was obviously annoyed, her voice managed to soften slightly at the mention of her wife. Especially at the last comment, which brought forth a memory that made Audria lightly blush and cross her arms in a huff, feigning indifference. Although she couldn't see the blush, Dahlia noticed the change in voice immediately, and she knew they were in good hands.

"Um, Ma'am Kemrys-" Dahlia asked.

"Audria," Audria cut in, her voice flat and annoyed.

Dahlia nodded. "Audria, I felt a divine presence as we approached. Are we on holy land?"

Audria, unaware of Dahlia's blindness, waggled her hand in a "so-so" motion. "Eh, maybe. That's somethin' the wife'll know better'n me. All I know is we got good land here, so I ain't got a tolerance for assholes leavin' their shit around, you got that?!"

Dahlia flinched and the others quickly admitted they understood the sentiment, mostly to appease the short-tempered Audria. Satisfied, Audria finished applying the salve to Kake, and with Gauth's help, moved both horses to the stable.

"Right. Now gimme a gold piece and that'll buy room'n'board for the two of'em," Audria said as she brushed hay off her front. "Medicine's...fuck, what was it again?"

Jayce headed off any potential argument by placing two gold pieces in her palm. "If there's change, take it as a tip," he said with a smile. "You've been more'n kind, so a tip's more'n fair."

Audria pinched both coins between her forefinger and thumb and inspected them closely. Once she confirmed they looked real enough, she nodded them toward Jayce and dropped them in a coin pouch on her belt. "You're one of the good ones. You keep that up. So what's your names again?"

"I'm Jayce," Jayce said with a respectful bow of the head. "That's Gauth, Al, Bera, Zoe, Jonathan, and Dahlia. We're an adventuring party known as the Ceylon Seven."

Upon hearing their team name said aloud to its first recipient, everyone payed close attention to Audria as she leaned her head back with a suspicious side-eye toward Jayce. "Ceylon? The fuck's that?"

"A symbol, ma'am, of the reach of our travels and our bond as friends," Jayce said with confidence, despite having only come up with that explanation a split second before. To his credit, Audria seemed completely convinced that the Ceylon Seven was indeed a very big deal, and she immediately wondered why she hadn't heard their names before.

"Huh. I'll be remembering that one. And if you're short, I'm coming in for the fuckin' coin!" Audria called out as she turned and walked away. Jayce breathed a sigh of relief and nearly deflated in front of them all as Bera hugged herself in delight.

"See?! I knew that name would work!" she giggled. "Ceylon Seven, soon to be a name known across Tal'Dorei! Maybe even Wildmount and Marquet someday!"

"Who cares?!" Al said sharply, having already turned on his heel to rush to the tavern. "I smell food and I'm hungry! Let's go!"

With Al leading the way and Bera jogging at his heels, they made their way to the front double doors of the tavern. While they had to shift some of the errant ivy branches to actually reach the handle, they could all hear the sounds of animated conversations, speckled occasionally with the sounds of laughter. Bera paused for a moment as she intently listened.

"As out of place as this is, I'm happy there's a place to laugh in these cursed woods," she said contentedly. "There's something so calming here."

"It's probably something to do with that divine presence I'm sensing here," Dahlia commented.

Jonathan and Al, having reached the door, took one side each and pushed it open, and warmth and light washed over them all. The warm light of the fire mingled with sunlight, given from floating orbs of glass that glistened and glittered in corners and near potted plants and wall-mounted planters that nearly choked the room. Each table had a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a splash of vibrant colors among the palette of greens that surrounded the tables, the stairway up, and even the bar counter at the back. Upon the chairs and tables themselves were delicately carved vines, brushed with a nearly worn out lively green.

The mixture of magical sunlight and firelight made the room feel as if evening had been long past, and they had somehow found themselves in an indoor garden at noon. Even with the magical lights hovering by the planters, the truly brightest point of the room was a young woman's smile.

Her hair was wavy and a deep green adorned with flowers braided into her flowing locks. Her long ears folded down, her deep honey eyes sparkled as she smiled at them, her nose flat and pink in contrast to the soft cream-colored fur that coated nearly every inch of skin they could see. What truly shocked them was she was eye level with Gauth, her tall stature graceful as she wove her way through the patrons and tables to greet her new guests.

"Welcome, welcome to you all!" she said brightly, her hands open and outstretched to them. "Welcome to the Sword of Vines, a sanctuary for the worn traveler. You will be fed and rested by the grace of Melora, our Wildmother, who gives us peace and safety in this place."

The mental math in Al's mind was visible across his face as he clearly grappled with what he was seeing. "You're...Audria's...wife?" he finally managed to stammer.

The strange woman had to work very hard to suppress the urge to giggle, and it was clear on her face as a broader smile fought to be revealed. Instead, she leaned on her knee and placed a hand on his arm, a move that was required if she was going to look him in the eye.

"Yes, sir. I am Caidove Kemrys, owner of this tavern and married to the warrior outside," she said gently. "Are you okay? She can be a bit abrasive, but she means well."

Unable to come up with any sort of answer, Al just said the first thing that came to mind. "You're...very tall."

Caidove stood up straight, crossed her arm, and pressed her knuckle to her lips as she gave a mighty effort not to laugh. "Yes, love. I'm a firbolg. We're tall."

Jayce immediately shoved his way to the front of the group and cut in by grabbing Al around the shoulders and physically pulling him back from Caidove. "Apologies, ma'am. I got a feelin' our friend here ain't acquainted with marriage for love, that's all. You got my word we'll keep 'im in line."

"It's perfectly fine," Caidove smiled. "Can I get you something to eat or drink? You've probably been on the road for a while."

"Absolutely," Jayce said with a smile of his own. "What's on the menu?"

Caidove led them to a seat farther in the tavern, one that even had enough elbow space for Gauth, as she went over the extent of the menu. While the meat options were somewhat lacking, that was easily compensated with the plethora of vegetable, fruits, and grains, some of which had apparently traveled from across the Lucidian Ocean.

"Oh! Do you have oranges?" Dahlia asked, clearly excited.

Caidove gave it some thought. "Not on hand...but I have limes! They're very similar, although more tart. I actually have several desserts that use them as the sour balances the sweet so well."

"And now you have my attention," Zoe said, also obviously excited. "Hey boss, can we go straight to dessert?"

"Not yer boss, Zoe," Jayce groaned into his hand. "You want dessert? Pay for it yerself. You got plenty of change from the last job."

Zoe rolled her eyes but relented. "Fine! Hey, miss Caidove, can I have one of those desserts? Oh! Dahlia, we can share! I can feed you!"

Dahlia nearly recoiled from Zoe as the monk burst out laughing from her reaction, and the others had to admit Dahlia's facial expression was quite amusing. However, Caidove was less amused.

"Miss," Caidove said softly but firmly, her eyes intense and locked exactly on Zoe's own, "your friend may be blind, but that comment was clearly not appreciated. You may tease each other to your hearts' content outside of my tavern, but in here, we will speak with respect toward our fellows and strangers. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Zoe squeaked, her shoulders immediately rigid as she sat up straight. There was a pause, but then it was clear the others found this reaction even more amusing as they began to giggle under their breaths.

They ordered their food, and when Caidove took an extra moment to ask if Dahlia preferred the clock or hand method for identifying the food on her plate, Dahlia made sure to thank her personally for the additional assistance.

"Although I am curious. How did you know I'm blind? Most people are shocked, even when I wear a bandage," Dahlia said. She made a conscious effort to face Caidove as much as possible, even if only to be polite.

Caidove smiled so genuinely that the smile was clear in her voice. "I'm a former adventurer, and I used to travel Exandria as a paladin of Melora and healer. I noticed your eyes didn't react to the sunlight orbs I have to help grown my indoor gardens, and your companion had his hand on your elbow; Beyond leading the blind, it's not a typical way of holding one's arm."

"You're very observant," Dahlia said, genuinely thankful. "Thank you so much for the accommodations."

"Of course!" Caidove said warmly. "I only regret I'm unable to help you more. Is your blindness an injury?"

Dahlia flinched as the memory came crashing back into the front of her mind. "Um, yes, but I'm fine. I've learned to live with it."

"Well, you're heading to Whitestone, right?" Caidove asked. She paused just long enough for Dahlia to confirm with a nod and then continued. "I know they have a very well established temple to Pelor in the city; there should be a cleric who can perform Greater Restoration and heal your sight."

"Pelor's light! No!" Dahlia said quickly. "That would be so expensive! Besides, I've learned to adapt, and there's no immediate need for me to be able to see. I would rather the money and talents be spent on more dire situations, or on those with greater need than mine."

Caidove smiled, but there was now a sadness in her eyes that was hard to place. "I understand. Still, that would be something to think about. I'll go ahead and get your meals for you."

As Caidove left, Jonathan turned toward Dahlia. "Have you...ever thought of getting your sight back before?"

Dahlia's face fell as she fidgeted, pulling at her fingers as if she was still wearing gloves. "I...have. Back when I first lost my sight. It was very hard to learn how to live without...light, and color, and...and everything else-" She paused and pressed a fist to her lip, partly to hide how she bit it, but also to distract herself from the tears she could feel welling up in her throat. All of her memories from her first few months of being blind began to flood her being, and she inwardly cursed herself. Why did her emotions have to be so strong? Why couldn't she ignore them, like others? Why didn't she have that strength?

Embarrassed and ashamed, Dahlia fought to keep her breathing calm and even until a hand rested on her arm. With a slight squeeze, she could tell who it was; Jayce, his hand placed exactly where he always put it. His presence was so calming. She let out a sigh and continued.

"So, yes, Jonathan, I've thought about it," she said, even though she now sounded exhausted. "I asked around once, about...twenty years back, and it turned out that I'd need anywhere from five-hundred to five-thousand gold, depending on the location, to hire a caster to perform it for me. I've never had half of the lower amount at any given time, so I've just...well, let it go."

"Holy shit that's expensive," Al mumbled. "No wonder you've given up."

Dahlia put on a fake smile that was subtle enough that none of them seemed to notice. "As you've all seen and heard, I've adapted. This is who I am, and I'm okay with that."

"It's stupid how crap like that isn't free," Zoe huffed, and Jonathan agreed with her sentiment. "I mean, think how much better the world would be if no one had to worry about being deaf, or blind, or missing a limb or something."

"I hate to play devil's advocate, but it's not that simple," Jonathan said as soon as his sister paused in her rant. "Most spells require physical components, which are sometimes consumed by the spell, and sometimes those can be literal diamonds. They aren't cheap."

"Beat me to it," Bera said with a nod. "Even my magic, which is dependent on my voice or music, needs a focus or material occasionally."

"And that's not even taking into account the physical strain," Jonathan added.

As everyone began to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of magic, Jayce ducked his hand into his rucksack by the foot of his chair. On top, right where he expected it to be, was his journal. As it had been recently updated with their bounty from Turst Fields, he knew the number inside would be accurate, and he remembered there was quite the sum in that magical coin pouch he wore. He pulled the charcoal pencil out from between the pages and looked over his haphazard accounting, and, just to be sure, he added a temporary zero after the total platinum.

Technically, they could afford the entire range Dahlia had mentioned. It was a lot of money, though, and far more than he had ever spent in one sitting before. However, would it be worth it, for a friend? And he did consider her a friend. One of his closest, in fact. Besides, if the money was to be used for any of them, Dahlia wouldn't even hesitate for their well-being.

And then another thought crashed into his mind. Something Gauth had said, in fact.

It helps that she can't see your skin.

Fear gripped his heart so suddenly that he almost flinched from the pain. What if she found him repulsive? He glanced down at his hand, his skin visible as he had taken off his gloves once they were inside. What if she truly did forget who, or what, he was, and that was why she treated him like a person?

He would lose so much if she abandoned him. The risk was too much. He put the pencil back in the journal and closed it as subtly as possible to avoid attention. Once it was safely back in his bag, he returned his attention back to the conversation.

"-then I literally get nosebleeds. The headaches can get even worse," Jonathan said.

"Oof!" Bera puffed, her own face twisted in empathetic pain. "That sounds terrible. For me, I literally lose my voice. I sound like a croaking frog."

"What about you?" Al asked, turned toward Dahlia. "Your magic is divine, right? So what's that draw from?"

"...Oh! You're talking to me," Dahlia said after an awkward pause. "I'm sorry. I didn't initially think you were speaking to me, so I wasn't...really paying attention."

Al rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Dahlia. You'd think you'd pay closer attention because you couldn't see!"

Zoe, sat next to Al, punched him in the arm and glared at him as he flinched and grunted in pain. "Rude, asshole! This whole conversation started because we were talking about getting her vision back! Of course she's got other things to think about."

"Speaking of," Jayce cut in, "if I may interrupt… Hypothetically, if we were able to get the money and find someone who could cast the spell…" Jayce internally braced himself as he looked at Dahlia. "Would you do it, Dahlia? Would you get your sight back?"

Dahlia scratched at her wrist and then switched to pulling at her fingers again. "I...I don't know. It's a lot of money, and it could be put to such better use. Weapons, armor, supplies, even enchantments! It's not like I need my sight; I've lived without it for so long. I mean, provided work is constant, and considerable, or at the very least pays well, and I could save up… I… I don't know."

"I honestly thought you'd jump for it," Bera said softly. "I can't imagine living without my sight; if I lost it, I'd do anything to get it back. Are you...afraid of seeing again?"

Dahlia shook her head emphatically. "Oh no! Definitely not. I...would like to see again. I just…" She huffed a humorless laugh and gave them all a tired smile. "I mean, it would be good to finally put faces to voices, but…let's face it, it's prohibitively expensive, and I've learned to live like this. I'm fine."

"But!" Jonathan said with such sudden vigor that nearly half the table jumped. "She mentioned a cleric, right?"

There were general nods around the table.

Jonathan smiled at Dahlia. "You're a cleric, too! You'll learn the spell one day, and you could cast it on yourself!"

Dahlia hid her hands under the table to hopefully hide her constant fidgeting. It was getting embarrassing, but she couldn't seem to stop. "That is...technically true, if I can find someone to train me. It's not like that 'weapon of light' that just appeared back in Turst; not all of my spells come to me as divine inspiration."

"That would be handy, though!" Al snickered.

Curious, Jayce glanced over to Gauth, who had been silent the entire conversation. Rather than join the mirth of his friends, Gauth was scanning the room, watching the other patrons and tapping at the tabletop. Jayce leaned over and nudged him gently with his elbow to get the giant-kin's attention before he spoke.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked quietly.

Gauth shrugged, but responded in kind. "They are speaking of magic. I know nothing of magic, so I am not listening."

"So...what are you doin'?" Jayce asked.

Gauth leaned over a bit and nodded toward someone across the room. Jayce glanced in that direction to see a woman in a heavy winter cloak, her face partially hidden by a black veil. Her thin, claw-like fingers with incredibly long nails plucked at her utensils and cup like the pincers of an insect, her thin, red lips twitching as she nibbled at her food.

Jayce shivered. "That ain't natural. What you figure?"

Gauth gave a little shrug, but then continued. "She eats alone, but nearly every adventurer in here looks to her. I wonder if she owns them."

Jayce also shrugged, but more obviously. "Could be their boss. Ain't sure."

Gauth grimaced. "Why is her face hidden?"

Jayce tried to give the woman a subtle but scrutinizing look. He tried to glean any sort of information from her, ranging from the colors she wore to the clear care she took for her presentation, that it was only once she slammed her fork down and glared at him that he realized she had noticed.

He flinched away and physically turned his body to lean on his fist while clearly facing Gauth. "And that's how ya piss off a woman you ain't even met," Jayce grumbled through a pained smile.

Gauth snickered and patted his shoulder a bit too hard to be comfortable. "You will survive."

"Yep. Just so long as me an' that woman never cross paths," Jayce sighed.

Gauth patted him again and grinned. "I will help if I can."

"What's got you all giddy?" Al asked.

Gauth pointed at Jayce with a silly grin. "Jayce got a woman mad by looking at her."

"Thanks, asshole," Jayce groaned as he dropped his head into his hands.

"You just have a talent for making people hate you," Al teased.

"Al, leave him alone," Dahlia chided. "Madam Caidove already make it clear she didn't want us teasing each other in her place."

"Talk about a kill-joy," Al grunted. "Still, that food's got to be done soon, right?"

Dahlia sniffed the air. "It should be about ready… It's hard to smell around all the flowers, but I think I can smell our food."

"I don't know how you can smell anything around these flowers," Bera said through sniffles. "I thought Benne was on to something but this is almost overkill."

"Who?" Zoe asked.

"Benne, the owner of the Sleeping Sage," Bera explained. "Oh boy I hope I never meet her again… She's probably pissed that I ditched work."

"That may be the least of our problems the next time we walk into Westruun," Jonathan said, his voice heavy with sadness. "My father is clearly not the man I thought he was."

Zoe gripped her arms and shuddered. "Oh you have no idea… But I'm glad you believe me."

Jonathan offered her a tired smile as Caidove returned with the food, although she had to make several trips to retrieve Gauth's massive portions. To everyone's delight, the food was obviously made with care, tasted wonderful, and was a welcome reprieve to a dreary week of travel.

xXxXx

"Jayce! Wake up!"

Jayce groaned and blinked his bleary eyes. "Hm wha…?"

His vision finally focused. Dahlia was hovering over him, trying to shake him awake. "Jayce! I hear someone screaming! Please help me!"

Adrenaline surged through his veins as he immediately sat up and yanked on his boots. "What about the others?"

"I don't know if we have time!" Dahlia whined, the dilemma clearly causing her distress. "Please! They sound desperate!"

Jayce rushed to the door of the cozy room and paused just long enough for Dahlia to plant a hand on the back of his shoulder. Once he checked that she was close, he opened the door and stepped into the hallway, Dahlia exactly behind him.

He paused briefly, trying to listen for the screams Dahlia claimed she heard. A screech of anger whispered from beneath the stairs, and he rushed toward the sound. He made sure to warn Dahlia when they reached the top of the stairway, but he did not pause or slow down as he descended. Dahlia, already well acclimated to his pace, followed easily and did not hesitate as they passed the stairs.

"...Looks like it's still down," Jayce whispered. "Another flight of stairs."

This time, they could easily hear the scream. Audria, in a feral rage, roared with wild power from behind a door hidden beneath the stairs. Jayce practically dove for it, with Dahlia still following behind.

Thankfully, it was not locked and easily opened as soon as Jayce pressed any force against it. What loomed beyond was a dark set of stone stairs, cold and barren compared to the vibrant life of the rest of the dark tavern. A cold aura wafted toward them, as if they would be descending into an icy vault if they were to continue.

However, now that the door was open, the sounds of rage and clanging metal was now clearly audible. During their brief moment of hesitation, Caidove's voice was clear.

"Audie! Wake up! Please!"

Another clang, and then Caidove cried in alarm and pain. Immediately, partly spurred on by Dahlia pushing him, Jayce scrambled down the stairs and arrived at the bottom, shocked to see Audria, in barely more than thin sleeping clothes, viciously attacking Caidove. To her credit, Caidove was holding her own, but the metal-tipped quarterstaff she had been using for defense was so heavily damaged it was barely in one piece, and the thin nightgown Caidove wore had a slash through its side that clung to her skin with a wet crimson stain.

"Audria's attacking Caidove!" Jayce said quickly before he rushed into the battle, his sword appearing in his hand the instant it came up to block Audria's own sword. The clash sent sparks and spits of blue-black flame flying from the metal, and Audria locked eyes with him, her breath seething through her teeth with rage.

Her eyes were white, and her breath came out as frozen mist. Jayce would have flinched away if it wasn't clear that doing so would spell his immediate doom by allowing Audria to finish her strike in his direction.

Dahlia ripped her hand out of her bag, a small shard of iron in her hand, brandished like a blade. "By Pelor's light, I bind thee!" she yelled, golden light streaming from the iron as if she were weaving a web of sunbeams across the room. The light wrapped around Audria and cinched tight, slamming her arms to her sides, but she roared, tearing through the light as if they were material ropes of old cotton. Dahlia, already pale, turned a whiter shade as she realized exactly what just happened.

Caidove, finally out of Audria's range thanks to Jayce's interference, nearly panicked at realizing what just happened with their involvement. Green light twisted around her arm, swirling around a silver mirror on a charm bracelet, until Caidove released the energy at Jayce. The light circled his feet and built a bubble around him as Audria charged, and Audria visibly shuddered, as if she had to physically force her blade through thickened air to strike him. He twisted hard, but she still managed to slash into his leg, cutting shallowly across his thigh. Audria immediately swung her sword around for a second strike, her body once again shuddering as her head twisted in a strange angle during the attack.

Jayce, not one to be taken unawares twice, hopped out of her range before angling his own blade toward her. He twisted the blade back at the last second and threw out his hand, swearing loudly as a blue-black mist exploded from his palm. Audria folded in half, coughing and wheezing as Jayce launched at her, aiming to slam the flat of his blade into the back of her head. Audria saw him coming and jerked back, nearly leaning on her sword to avoid his strike as he swore again, but this time from frustration.

Dahlia had not been idle. As the others faced off with Audria, she had been charging a spell. Her holy symbol, bright and vibrant against her chest, flashed with golden light as Dahlia directed a ray of magic directly at Audria's body. It struck with force and seeped into her arms and legs, making her limbs flash with blood red light as she acted as if her sword was suddenly twice its weight. Audria's eyes flickered, shifting between white and her usual iris, before solidifying back as pale orbs that seethed with rage.

"Almost!" Caidove yelled as she threw the nearly broken staff aside. She charged forward and nearly tackled her wife, her arms clenched around Audria's own arms and waist as she bodily lifted the woman from the ground. "Help me hold her!"

Jayce rushed forward, his blade flashing into fog as he slid on his knees to restrain Audria's flailing legs. Jayce nearly took a knee to the face but thankfully avoided the blow, mostly due to the strange magic glowing through Audria's limbs sapping her of strength.

Dahlia jogged over as Audria began to pant and grow weak. With a final wheeze, a ghostly mist fell from Audria's lips and dissipated into the air as if it had been nothing but a dream. Audria went limp and Jayce and Caidove nearly collapsed to the ground at the sudden lack of resistance.

"I smell blood," Dahlia said quickly. "What happened? Where are you hurt?"

"Audie… My love, please…" Caidove pleaded as she practically coddled the barely conscious form of her wife. "Please come back to me, please…!"

"Dove…?" Audria groaned, her face pale in a sheen of sweat. She blinked, her eyes twitching as if something were irritating them, and Caidove let her go so she could rub at her eyes. Jayce immediately backed away to give them space and quietly explained to Dahlia that he was hurt and would really appreciate some magical healing.

Audria, finally released, stumbled forward and pawed at her eyes, unable to get her hands to clench as the enfeeblement spell wore off. "How… What happened…?" She finally looked up, her gaze clearly traveling from Caidove's face to the bleeding wound on her hip. "Oh shit! Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Dove! What did I do to you?!"

Audria reached for her wife, but immediately pulled back her own arms, as if afraid she would hurt Caidove again. Completely calm, Caidove closed the distance between them and wrapped Audria in a gentle hug. "Hush, darling. I'm okay. You're back; that's all that matters."

"Fucking hell it's not!" Audria yelled as she tried to push Caidove away. "I hurt you! You- You're- Gods-damning-fuck I hurt-!"

Caidove did not relent, her eyes misted with tears as she continued to hold Audria close to her chest. Audria, unable to keep tears of her own from forming, buried her face in her wife's shoulder as she sobbed in shame. "Dove, I'm so sorry. I'm so damn sorry."

"Ma'am," Dahlia cut in as gently as she could, "Jayce told me you were hurt. May I heal you?"

"Fuck…!" Audria whined, her face still buried in Caidove's shoulder. "In front of the fucking customers…"

"It's okay, darling," Caidove said gently. She turned to Dahlia, her voice as tired as her smile. "I have some healing magic of my own, but thank you. And thank you both for your help. I wasn't quite sure I could reach her by myself."

"Ain't a problem, ma'am," Jayce said, "but, uh, what happened here? She was huffin' like somethin' possessed."

"She was," Caidove said, her voice dark and grim as she stroked Audria's hair. "This isn't the first time."

"I...could feel it happening, Dove," Audria mumbled. "That's why I came down here to practice. I thought...if I didn't sleep, I wouldn't…!"

"And you fell asleep anyway," Caidove said softly. "No one can blame you. You're human, darling. You need your sleep."

"Like firbolgs don't need sleep either," Audria groaned.

"So, sorry to interrupt, but this's been happenin' for a while?" Jayce asked.

"Last few nights," Caidove sighed. "Something's been haunting her dreams and possessing her with such rage that I can barely wake her."

"And then...I hurt you. Every single time," Audria mumbled, her voice wracked with guilt.

"This isn't the first time I've fought for your life, my darling," Caidove said gently, still stroking her wife's hair. "This won't be the last. I love you."

"Ugh…" Audria groaned, her face once again buried in her wife's shoulder. "Do you have to say that in front of the customers? It's fucking embarrassing."

"I will say it in front of all of Exandria if I have to! I love you!" Caidove almost yelled, her voice full of conviction and confidence as she shoved Audria just enough to look her dead in the eyes. "I won't let the threat of pain ever keep me from your side!"

Jayce cleared his throat to grab their attention. "Ma'ams, I hate to interrupt, but we're glossin' over something pretty damn important; this ain't gonna stop with a wake-up call. Either of you got any idea what caused this?"

Caidove shook her head and released Audria from the hug. Once her hands were free, a green light that spread like growing vines curled around her fingers and she placed them to the wound on her side. The vines of light seemed to knit the wound closed, and once the light faded, what remained was little more than a long but shallow scratch. "I can't even think of any visitors that have been staying for that long. I'm sorry."

"It may not be caused by a visitor," Dahlia said quickly. "Perhaps there's something out in the woods nearby that has decided to prey on you."

Audria stood to her feet and helped up Caidove as she took on a look of deep thought. Caidove immediately noticed. "Audie, you've got that look. You've noticed something in the Parchwoods, haven't you?"

Audria nodded and looked grave. "Something's corrupting the Parchwoods, more than normal. It ain't just the damned and the undead out there now; ettercaps are so fucking common we've got anti-toxin on hand just to deal with their shit, diseased rats and snakes are on the rise, and that's not even talking about that damned fog. Fog is common around here, but that pea soup shit ain't. Hell, it ain't even the worst thing I found out there; Deeper in the fog, the trees are plastered with white grit, and the air smells sickly sweet, like pears." Audria winced and clenched her fists at her sides. "It's a past I'm not proud of, but I recognized the smell; that's what a person smells like when they burn."

Dahlia gasped and almost grabbed her throat in disgust, horrified at the notion. "Something...someone is cooking travelers?!"

Audria crossed her arms and nodded. "Do it enough, and it'll look like the fucking snow's come early. That white ash shit gets sent in the air for miles with a good wind behind it, and it'll stick to anything that's even remotely damp."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Caidove asked, her voice quiet with the realization.

"Because!" Audria barked, her shoulders visibly tensed as she turned away from Caidove. "You've got the inn to deal with, the grounds, the customers, that fucking paperwork… And now this shit. I'm the only reason why this place ain't safe for you, and...that's enough worry for now."

"Then let us take some of that worry," Jayce cut in. "I'll take my group out into the Parchwood Timberlands tomorrow, do some diggin', try to find what's makin' things worse, and if we're lucky, it'll be the same sonuvabitch hurtin' you."

"We couldn't!" Caidove said, a note of panic creeping into her voice. "We can't compensate you for anything you do; Money is tight right-"

"Because of the road getting more dangerous!" Audria snapped. "We can't get the fucking customers if they can't make the damn trip!"

"Then we'll ask for trade," Dahlia said, her voice clear and confident as she interrupted Caidove's attempt at a rebuttal. "This is a training room, correct? Perhaps there is armor or equipment here, or we could have a meal for free before we leave."

"Eh, maybe a bit more than a meal," Jayce said awkwardly. He didn't want to ask for more, but he had the feeling just asking for a free meal after facing off with whatever possessed Audria would be too cheap for the others to accept. "But we can negotiate once we know what the fuck we're dealin' with. Audria's right; this ain't normal, but neither of you can go check this out. You both gotta run the inn and keep your customers safe, or no coin is rollin' through that door. Leave it to us, and we'll get the worst of it out of yer hair."

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Caidove said, genuine relief in her voice and her hands clasped together in thanks. "We may not have coin, but we will make it worth your while."

"I trust you will," Dahlia said kindly, but any further comment was silenced by her attempt to suppress a yawn. Once she successfully battled through that, she turned to Jayce. "And I think it's about time we get back to bed."

Jayce nodded, his limbs heavy as the exhaustion caught up with him. "I agree. Hey, ma'ams, this...ain't gonna repeat tonight, right? We can sleep now?"

"As far as I know, the strange...influence is gone for the night," Caidove said with a shrug. "It seems to pass as soon as Audria wakes from it."

"Hopefully this is the last fucking time," Audria mumbled.

Caidove put a hand on Audria's shoulder and tried to give her a look of encouragement. Audria appreciated the gesture, and while she couldn't meet her wife's eyes, she placed her own hand on Caidove's. Satisfied, Caidove looked toward Jayce and Dahlia. "I hope you have a peaceful night, both of you. Thank you so much for your help."

"Of course," Dahlia smiled. "And we hope you sleep well too."

Jayce and Dahlia took their leave, with Jayce leading Dahlia up the stairs and to the common room, softly lit with what muted sunlight could escape the magical orbs that had been covered with blue cloths for the night. Jayce paused in their trek and sighed heavily, his shoulders slumped from the pure exhaustion that washed over him.

Dahlia immediately noticed he had stopped and stepped forward to be next to him. It was easy enough to follow the hand on her arm to his so she could place a hand against it. "Jayce? What's wrong?"

Jayce placed his palm on his face before running his hand through his hair. "Just… fuckin' hell, how're we gonna get the others to follow along? We're adventurers! We make our livin' out on the fuckin' road, and we're askin' 'em all do to this for free! We barely got paid back in Turst!"

"But we did," Dahlia said softly, with what she hoped was an encouraging smile. "It was our kindness that paid us, if you really think about it. If we continue to do good, coin will come. I happen to know Pelor is still listening, so that's at least one god looking out for us, and I know he takes care of his followers."

Dahlia's face fell and her smile lost some of its genuine glow. "At least, that would explain why I'm still here."

Jayce twisted enough to fully face her and took both her hands in his own. "And for that, I'm grateful," he said quietly. This was something he would say just for her, because he believed it with his whole heart. "I wouldn't've met you otherwise, and…that's a world I'm fuckin' glad I ain't ever gonna know."

Dahlia's eyes began to mist as she gave off a short, humorless laugh. He wondered if she didn't believe him, but he couldn't understand why. It was true. Everything he had just said was true. His heart began to pound in his chest as he released her hand and then raised his to her face, hovering above her cheek. Would she flinch away? Would she refuse?

To his shock and delight, she seemed to notice and leaned into his hand, fully pressing his palm to her cheek. He used the excuse to pull her close, as gently as he could, so he could wrap his arms around her in a hug.

"I know…" Jayce said, but paused. He thought back on everything they had been through since those days in Kymal. How long had it been? A month? Two? And yet, so much had happened, some of which he wouldn't trade for the world. "I know fightin' that demon is hard, Dahlia. And yet, you keep helpin' others. How many times now have you run off just 'cause you heard someone scream?"

"In your company?" she snickered. "Thrice."

Jayce blinked as he tried to count the experiences. "...Damn. I missed one."

"The curse of focused hearing…" Dahlia mumbled into his shoulder.

"Nah. Blessing. That's three separate times you've saved lives, just because you're you," Jayce said with a smile. He began to stroke her hair and somehow his heart began to pound harder as she settled deeper into his hug. "So...I hope you don't mind, but please be your amazin' self and help me because I'm fuckin' lost as to how t' get our friends involved."

Dahlia, relaxed and calm, smiled as she wrapped her arms around Jayce and hugged him back. "Don't worry; For that, I have a plan."

xXxXx

The forest was eerily quiet.

Flecks of white, wide and fluttering, drifted between bare branches of dying pine trees, their needles a grisly red high above the path where light once touched the forest. Spiderwebs laced the canopy high above the thin layer of mist that creeped among the trunks, the strands of webbing dotted with the white flakes like knotted thread upon thin lace. Silent footsteps padded below, the trail hidden in the fog as a stark black shadow drifted among shades of white and grey, the only sound in this barren place lost among the expanse of decay around it.

The shadow paused in its path to survey the way forward. Standing stock still just ahead was a humanoid shape, barely perceptible between the dark trunks that faded to grey in the strange snow. The being was coated with the substance, small piles upon its head and shoulders, as it stood motionless in its space.

A crack echoed through the woods as two daggers flashed in the low light and embedded themselves into the top of the humanoid's skull, and then were pulled violently in different directions. A puff of blue flame flickered away from the void that was once the humanoid's throat as the skull, nearly empty save for a rotted sludge, fell to the ground in multiple pieces. The body, no longer animated by the strange magic that permeated the Parchwood Timberlands, collapsed to the ground, a lifeless corpse once more.

"Damn every inch of this hell-hole," Al hissed under his breath. He wiped the blades clean on what remained of the zombie's clothes, but instead only managed to cake them more thoroughly in the fine white ash that was falling from the sky. He tensed in restrained rage before he punted half the zombie's skull into the distance. "Fuck this damned fucking piece of shit hell-hole!" he swore, but still as quietly as his anger would allow.

He was a professional, after all.

A bird called out, a twitter and a long call. Al grumbled to himself and sheathed the blades, making a mental note to clean them later. That call was the only bird call Gauth could reliably make, so in this wood that was absent of all decent fauna, it was clearly coming from the only goliath he knew. It may be completely out of place, but it was better than shouting over long distances.

Al put his hands around his mouth and tried to imitate the call, but it barely came out as a whistle. Once again, he grunted in frustration, but then licked his lips before he tried again. This time he came out with a fairly decent approximation of the previous bird call. Al wasn't worried; Gauth would know it was him. After all, Gauth taught him the bird call in the first place, and he knew Al sucked at it.

He'd rather use the bell, but that would be far too obviously a human tool if anything was listening.

In barely the span of a minute, Gauth and the others following him had caught up. Like him, they were lightly dusted with the gritty ash, their clothes stained in streaks of grey and white where they had tried to brush off the unnatural snow.

Jayce immediately stepped past Al and looked over the dead body. He nudged the remaining chunk of skull with his foot and grimaced. "Nice," he said. "Didn't even hear this one. You're getting' better."

"Thanks," Al grumbled sarcastically as he tried, again unsuccessfully, to brush the ash off his arms. He turned to the others. "Dahlia, anything new about the smell?"

Dahlia sniffled a little and rubbed her nose, which had gone pink from the cold. "Just a moment, please."

"Take your time," Zoe said, her voice tense with apprehension. Per her request, Jonathan stood a step behind her whenever possible and allowed her to lead. Puffpaw, unable to walk through the ash and fog with the same ease as her bipedal companions, was settled on Jonathan's shoulder in a similar way to Bera, who was hanging on to Gauth's axe harness. It was quickly determined that she had the sharpest eyes of the group, so while Dahlia gave them a basic direction, her place on Gauth's shoulder was to spot anything in the distance that may cause trouble as they traveled.

Dahlia audibly sniffed and then bent over in a hacking fit. Just as Al suspected, Jayce immediately rushed to her side, and Al almost felt as if a needle was shot through his heart. He grimaced and turned away, his arms crossed. Today was going to be awful and seemed determined to stay that way.

"I'm sorry," Dahlia wheezed as Jayce helped her stand up straight again. "I've inhaled too much ash; I can't tell which direction the smell is strongest."

"It's not like this shit is particularly thick," Al hissed. Jayce immediately shot him a warning look, but Al shrugged it off. He was too upset to care.

"It is still poison," Gauth growled. His axe had been in his hand the entire trek through the forest so far, and his grip visibly tightened on the handle as he stepped closer to Al. "We are asking our healer to breath poison to find our way. You will be better to her."

"Just admit this is a stupid waste of time!" Al snapped. "We're out here to avenge some gods-damned horse and there's no fucking chance of getting paid! Why-?"

The decision to wear his armor under his tunic suddenly became a disadvantage as Gauth easily grabbed a fistful of the loose cloth and physically lifted Al from the ground. Al, in a panic, grabbed and clawed at Gauth's fist as he was terrified he would be physically thrown hard enough to shatter his bones.

"We are here to avenge Kake!" Gauth roared directly into Al's face. "He is our companion just like our friends! He has pulled our weight with no complaint! I will not abandon him!"

"O-okay! Okay!" Al wheezed, his voice shaking. "Ju-just put me down, please!"

Gauth unceremoniously dumped Al on the ground and glared at him until the newly whitened rogue scrambled back up to his feet. It was at this point that Jayce finally decided to interfere.

"That's enough," he said firmly. "We don't want t' tip off anythin' hiding in these trees, and it's pretty damn clear there's more spiders about. Keep yer voices down."

"Now you say something," Al hissed under his breath. The ash had thoroughly stained his boots and cloak to a dull grey, and as much as he hated the thought of eventually cleaning himself, the new color could possibly work toward his advantage. Even so, he made the motions of brushing himself off as soon as he stood to save whatever face was salvageable.

"You ready to give it another try?" Jayce asked Dahlia gently. She nodded and took another deep breath, her face wincing from the hints of ash that brushed her face.

There was a pause, their breath fading on the gentle breeze that caused the poisonous snow to drift among the trees, as they waited for her response. After what felt like several seconds too long, Dahlia turned and pointed through the trees. "There. That way. I can smell the fire, and...blood."

Bera shrieked as soon as they looked.

Al stared in shock. He could have sworn that tree was bare just a moment ago, when the others had caught up. However, now, there was a mutilated body, a humanoid of undetermined race, bound to the tree in front of them with thick cords of bone-white spider silk. The skin was grey and lifeless, pulled taut and torn across its bones where blackened blood had seeped when the wounds were fresh. At least one arm was missing, as well as a foot, but more was difficult to see under the tangled mess of webbing that fastened it to the dead pine.

"What the hell…?" Jonathan breathed, the fear audible in his voice as he trembled behind his sister.

"You said it," Zoe mumbled in response.

"Can someone please-?!" Dahlia cried, but her thought was cut short as Jayce pulled her directly into a hug, burying her face in his collar. He whispered something to her, but Al had no idea what it could have been; Jayce's eyes were hard and cold as he stared at the body, almost as if suppressing a rage of his own.

Al glanced back at the body. Why? Why would Jayce be mad about some poor sap who met a probably fitting end in the woods? Al scoffed and crossed his arms again. It was probably about Dahlia. It was always about Dahlia.

"No kidding all kids like sweets," Al mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Jayce asked. Al clearly heard the warning in Jayce's voice and rolled his eyes.

"Can we move on and get this over with? I hate this fucking place!" Al snapped. His patience was long since gone. "We don't even know what we're looking for!"

"Can we please be quiet!?" Jonathan whined. He visibly shuddered and rubbed his arms. "That body came out of literally nowhere! Who knows what's out there?!"

"And watching us," Zoe said, her voice tense as she scanned the surroundings.

"Well, I can say one thing…"

Everyone looked at Bera, her face pale and anxious. She pointed past the body on the tree and they followed her direction with their own gaze.

"Whatever it is definitely knows we're here."

The subject of her attention was a ratty wooden sign, another seemingly random appearance among the pine tree husks. Drawn upon it in a suspiciously similar color to the poisoned blood of the corpse, the words "This Way" clearly defined their path forward. To make the trail ever more clear was a series of floating lights, flickering a nauseating mix of orange and green as they bobbed in the air as if upon the waves of an agitated stream.

"And I'm done," Al said, his hands in the air as he turned on his heel and marched back the way they came. Unfortunately, his plan was cut short as Gauth snagged the back of his cloak and practically dragged him along, which forced him to the front of the group as Gauth began to follow the path of lights.

"Wait-wait-wait! Gauth! Wait!" Al yelped, his feet scrambling to stay underneath him. "This could be a trap! Stop!"

Gauth nearly threw his friend forward and gripped his axe in both hands. "Only a fool would think it is not!" he yelled. "The hunter invites the prey to his home, but we are no prey! His death will be his...his…! Pokker ta alt! I have no word!"

Gauth swung his axe in a lethal arc, a scant breath from Al's chest as the rogue scrambled backward. The blade struck and shattered one of the floating lights as if it was made from glass, but the sound was not that of mineral material. Instead, the sound of screeching wisps escaped, as if tortured spirits had met their end at Gauth's blade.

Finally with a target for his anger, Gauth whirled on the next orb in line and raised his axe with furious intent. The muscles in his jaw and neck went tight and hard as stone as his axe tore through the air-

Bera waved her hands through the air, weaving a dark green smoke as if it was silk into the shape of wreath as she chanted a wordless tune. The wreath expanded through them all, the smoke clinging to them briefly before wrapping about their chest like a mother's shawl. Al and Zoe immediately slumped their shoulders, their face devoid of emotion for the moment...and to their relief, Gauth did the same, his axe thudding into the soft earth without the full power of his strike.

"Whoo! Wasn't sure that would work," Bera laughed nervously. "First time, and all. Gauth, you okay? That was a spell to make you calm."

Gauth's eyes fell and he turned his head away from her, even though her position on his shoulder made the motion difficult. "My anger is not gone...but I am calm."

"Good," Bera said, her face a picture of relief.

"It's kinda nice, actually," Zoe said, her voice even and serene. "I'm not even scared anymore."

"Now I wish I had just let the spell hit me," Jonathan mumbled.

"Now that we're all in a better mood," Jayce cut in, "calm or not, it ain't gonna change the shit we're up against. Anyone got any ideas what it is?"

There was an uncomfortable pause as they glanced among themselves, and with collective shrugs, it was clear no one had any ideas. Even Bera, who was well versed in a plethora of mythologies and monster lore, had nothing to give them any clue.

Dahlia, unfortunately, had a thought, but she desperately hoped it was wrong. After all, the constant mention of spiders unnerved her deeply, but she kept such thoughts to herself. Perhaps, if she said nothing, it wouldn't become real.

xXxXx

The path was longer than expected. They all walked with weapons in hand, deeper and deeper among the rust-red pines that had been stained in grey. The ash was thicker now, falling in waves as gusts of wind brought the impossibly fine cremated remains directly into their faces. Dahlia had to repurpose nearly all of her bandages to create cloth coverings for the noses and mouths of almost half the team; Zoe, Jayce, and Al had either sashes or handkerchiefs they could use instead, which they immediately employed.

To Dahlia's relief, her talents of perception were no longer required along the path as they had all decided to trust the mysterious sign-maker, at least to the point of the destination. Jonathan had convinced the others that the sign was likely an olive branch of sorts, or a way to imply the maker had wanted to talk. His argument was much more convincing when various ash-choked corpses, moaning as the wind whistled through previously fatal cavities, shambled their way toward the path but never stepped within the strange light of the orbs.

Zoe flinched hard as another zombie practically threw itself at her, but came to a sudden stop just five feet from the magical light. She presented both middle fingers and kept walking along the path, into the darkening woods.

Al, empathetic of Zoe's plight but also amused by her reaction, did the exact same gesture as he passed the wheezing corpse. He couldn't help but smirk as it stared blankly at him.

The world began to darken as they continued, the miasmic light flickering between orange and green. Al glanced up and squinted through the ash, noting the twisted and bare branches above them.

"Anyone else notice we're not in the pine woods anymore?" he asked.

Jonathan startled and grabbed at his heart as he wheezed. "Holy-! Al! Why is that important?!"

Al smirked at him. "Startled you, didn't I?"

"Yes!" Jonathan hissed. "So why is it so damn important that we're not in a pine forest now?!"

Al nodded over to the large, twisted trunks with their low branches. "Bigger trunks, lower branches, more places to hide or climb. Underbrush will be thicker too, especially with exposed roots. And keep in mind, that's not just for us. Anything could be in those branches and brush."

"Are you trying to freak me out?!" Jonathan snapped, his voice so tense from trying to stay quiet that he almost squeaked. Al couldn't help but laugh under his breath; Zoe had squeaked in a nearly identical way in the tavern the night before. Apparently even adopted siblings could be similar.

"No, but keep your eyes open, just in case," Al snickered. He patted Jonathan's shoulder and jogged to catch up with Gauth at the front of the group before the mage could retort.

A chattering, clacking sound reached his ears as he caught up with his friend. Al whipped around, his eyes focusing on the darkness beyond the orbs, but all he saw were dark shapes, large and bulbous, with something thin floating around them. As he watched, the shape flickered, and then became lost behind the branches and ropes of spider web that had become thick with ash.

Al nearly rubbed his eyes, but then remembered his hands were coated in grimy white particulate. That was not an experience he was excited to try.

"Mother preserve us…!"

Al's attention snapped ahead of them as soon as Bera spoke, and he could see why she had reacted. Billowing black smoke and red cinders was spewing from a hovel that almost looked like the hollowed trunk of a massive tree, the gaping jagged maw at the top glowing a furious crimson as it vomited burning poison. The lower half of the hovel was bulbous and sagged, as if filled with fluid and had settled at the limits of its stretch. The bark upon the walls were cracked in random vertical strikes, sending beams of blood red light out into the woods, where it flashed across the surface of falling white ash.

Indeed, such an abode would be loathe to call a home, if not for the ramshackle door and mismatched windows that clearly implied someone, or at the very least something, resided inside. The lights bobbed and gently weaved along a path to the door, but it was no longer the only marks upon the trail. Thin twigs, strangely dry and brittle, were tied with twine in vaguely humanoid shapes, large triangles fastened to a tall and slender spine where small talismans dangled from dried sinew and spider silk. Al grimaced and returned his gaze to the door; there was no way he wanted to know what those talismans were made of.

"Hey, Bera, do you...wanna cast that spell again?" Zoe whimpered from the back of the group.

"I think I'm going to save my magic, thank-you-very-much!" Bera wheezed, her form shrinking behind Gauth's shoulder. "What the hell would live in a place like this?"

Why don't you find out?

Everyone flinched as a voice rang inside their minds, uncomfortably loud and hissed like snakes in their ears. Perfectly timed with their rising eyes, the door popped on its rusty hinge and screeched like an unnatural beast as it slowly, ever so slowly, swung open under an invisible power. All they could see within was a reddish light, glowing and flickering as whatever fuel inside was consumed.

"...And whoever that was knows a spell strong enough to talk to all of us at once," Jonathan said with a gulp. "I think it's safe to assume we're going up against a magic user."

"Fuckin' great…" Jayce groaned. "Bad enough it fuckin' stinks like shit around here."

"And the-the spiders," Bera shuddered.

Come in, come in, my little lambs. Come say hello and sup with me.

Again, the voice was so grating that they all flinched in unison, but their hesitation afterward was palpable. Not seeing any movement from the others, Al turned to the rest of the team. "Who wants to go first?"

"I vote Jayce!" Zoe yelped immediately, her hand in the air.

"Not yer boss…!" Jayce said in a sing-song fashion, his voice tense with warning.

"But hear me out!" Zoe continued. "He's charismatic, and he's got magic of his own. And he's surprisingly good at getting out of tough scrapes. I mean, yeah, Gauth's hard to kill, but he's a big target and not a great talker, and this creature clearly wants to talk, right?"

Jonathan nodded enthusiastically, his head haloed by Puffpaw's floofed up fur, her fear visible on her wide and dilated eyes. Jayce looked among the others in panic, clearly noting everyone was in agreement, with one notable exception.

"He shouldn't go alone!" Dahlia almost shouted, her own panic clear. "The voice asked us all to go in, not just one of us!"

"And before anyone else speaks!" Al barked, the others almost jumping from the sudden interjection of his voice, "Keep in mind whoever it is can obviously hear us, so no plans! No talking! Don't even think! Got it?"

To his surprise, his companions were so desperate for direction that they agreed, and Jayce stepped forward to lead them inside. Al ducked to the side, as he hoped to find another way in. Perhaps he could find a way in from the back, try to flank the creature-

Now now now, little lamb, come on in with your friends. You don't want to join my garden.

Al flinched as the voice hissed in his ear like mosquitoes had danced in his skull. Pissed at being caught, Al jogged to catch up but still tagged behind, entering the hovel just behind Jonathan and Zoe.

Upon crossing the threshold, Al felt odd, as if he didn't quite fit in his skin. He glanced around in shock as he realized why everything felt off; the hovel was larger inside than made logical sense, with the fire being a large brazier in the center of room and suspended in the air by thick, blackened chains. In a building that seemed, from the outside, to be just as large as the fire within it, Al was shocked to see that there was almost thirty feet from the front door to the edge of the suspended basin. Within this thirty feet, however, an entire house had been shoved into the limited space. A cauldron, leaning bookshelves filled with tomes and strange curios, drying herbs that had been blackened by age, and in the center, seated at a large table that almost did not fit, was a woman.

To call her such was a stretch of the term, but she was clearly female in her sloped shoulders and slender neck. Her long, spindly fingers clacked and cracked as they weaved along strange shapes scratched into the wooden tabletop, her skin mottled as if bruised. Her eyes, bloodshot and small, were nearly hidden in her wrinkles as she smiled a crackled, crooked grin. Jagged fingernails tapped feverishly quickly as she watched them all step inside her home.

"Welcome, lambs…!" the hag wheezed, her voice as terrible in person as it was within their minds. "Please, take a seat within the home of Desdemona. It has been…" Her chest heaved while her breath whistled from a large inhale. "So long since I last had company…!"

Al almost had to do a double take. Desdemona's hair initially looked grey, but he quickly realized it was actually black; what he had mistaken for lightened color from age was actually patches of spider silk, plastered and tangled through her hair to keep it drawn from her face. He shivered in horror as one of the eight-legged creatures then appeared, crawling along Desdemona's ear before disappearing again behind an abnormally large and swollen lobe.

To Al's shock, Jayce stepped forward with confidence and bowed his head, his hand pressed to his heart. Was the man impervious to horror? Jayce then spoke, but did not dare to raise his head as he did so.

"Good evening, Lady Desdemona. I am humbled, as a stranger, to be welcomed into your home."

Desdemona burst out in a cackle, her voice shrieking as they all winced away from the sound. To his credit, Jayce did not raise his head, despite his shoulders tensing around his ears.

"Such words! A poet stands before me!" Desdemona creaked, her voice cracking in her mirth. "Speak as you do to your friends, young man, and name yourselves. True names, now. I don't abide liars."

Jayce finally raised his head, but had to immediately duck as plates and cups began to swirl through the air. Desdemona wagged her finger through the air, lightly bouncing its tip as each cup and saucer was placed neatly around the table in seven settings, plus another exactly in front of her. She smiled as they all hesitated in front of her table.

"Na-a-ames…!" Desdemona croaked, her face cracked into that crooked smile. "Take a seat as you speak."

For whatever reason, it was at this point that Jayce hesitated. Al watched him curiously as he motioned to Zoe, next to him, instead of indicating himself. "This is Zoe-"

"Young man," Desdemona growled, "Name yourselves. They have tongues. Let them speak. And sit when you do."

Jayce glanced at Zoe, who visibly gulped. She grabbed one of the stools under the table and pulled it out for herself. "I'm Zoe," she said as she sat, and Desdemona nodded, pleased.

"And the others…?" she hissed, more with the sound of air escaping a whistle than with the sibilance of anthropomorphic snakes. She raked her eyes across them all, and Jonathan visibly blanched when her eyes rested on him.

"I-I'm Jonathan," Jonathan stammered as he also pulled a small stool and sat on it. It was shorter than Zoe's, and it was clear he wasn't prepared for the difference in height. It was a close call, but Jonathan managed to catch himself before both he and Puffpaw pitched right off the stool and landed on the hard floor. "And this is Puffpaw!" he quickly added, indicating the familiar about his shoulders.

Desdemona nodded, and those present briefly wondered if her head was about to fall off her neck. She then looked at Gauth. "You, and your pretty little doll."

"I am Gauthak Gathakanathi," Gauth said confidently, and he took a seat next to Jonathan. Gently, he grabbed Bera and pulled her off his shoulder, then placed her on a second stool to his other side, where Bera nearly collapsed. Al hadn't noticed that she had been visibly shaking with fear the whole time.

"I-I'm Bera Galpsi Brewpack," Bera whimpered, still shaking and pale.

Not one to wait for an invitation, Al took a seat. "Al," he said curtly.

Both the strange woman and Al locked eyes for a moment, but Al refused to say more until Desdemona grimaced.

"Tis a name…" she growled begrudgingly.

Dahlia spoke next, once Jayce had prompted her and pulled out the squat stool at her place setting. "I am known as Dahlia the Blind," she said slowly, making sure to emphasize her words as clearly as her speech would allow. There was another pause, after which Desdemona seemed annoyed, but placated.

"Now you, poet boy," Desdemona creaked with a grin. "Name yourself."

Jayce stood at the final place setting, just to Desdemona's right. He pulled out his seat and sat upon it, his whole body tensed as if he sat on needles instead of rough wood.

"I'm Jayce," he said simply. Al felt his mouth go dry as Desdemona watched Jayce intently, her eyes roving hungrily over his form. Something felt very wrong in that moment, but Al had no idea what had gone wrong.

"So lovely of you all to visit," Desdemona said with a smile, her voice continuing to grate on their ears. "As I said before, it has been so long since I last had company…"

Clacking. Chittering. It was just behind him. Al whipped around in his seat and found himself face to face with two massive spiders, each a stark white but capped with a muted blue upon the ends of their long, spear-like legs and large bodies. The eyes were slate grey, pale and cloudy, and the larger eyes were nearly as large as Al's palm. He shouted in shock and slammed into the table after briefly forgetting it was there.

"But as I also said, I don't abide liars."

The spiders leapt in the small space, pouncing their target with blinding speed before they simply vanished from existence. Bera screeched as if her very life was ending, spurred on by the accompanying cries of her friends, but once it was clear that she had come to no harm, her voice petered out in confusion.

"Wh-what just happened? Jayce? Talk to me!" Dahlia begged the air. She turned toward his seat, but there was no reply.

Jayce was gone.