A Story of Eighteen Years

by Centurious the Azure

A rewrite of A Story of Eighteen Years. "This is a love story. The story of a girl with a broken soul, and the boy who tried to pick up those shattered pieces and put them back together…only to fail in every single way."

13. Deepground Revival (Pt1)

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A Story of Eighteen Years (A Chorus of Grace and Shadow Story)

Chapter Thirteen: Deepground Revival (Part 1)

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Ezra snapped the book shut with a sound thud. He sat there for a long moment in silence, absorbing what he had read. Or rather witnessed? Ezra didn't know which. All he knew was that he indeed consumed knowledge most forbidden. All beyond the ken of the living. And yet, he was living and not here. Ezra tried wrapping his head around it. He was basically Schrödinger's Person here, as twisted as that sounded.

He set the book on the table, sitting back in the luminous white chair. Trying his best to contemplate it all. He stared into the "ceiling", looking into the massive white void that was the ceiling of this place. He wasn't sure how he got there; all he could recall was his vision blurring, and everything was white when it cleared.

This weird, vast "library" went on for literal miles in every direction with infinite tomes. There was no shadow here. Only the white light of truth. It should have been so bright that it should have blinded him, but it wasn't to be. Everything was simply white here, the furniture and the aspects of the space itself were pure, blinding white. The place looked like it was heaven. Somehow, Ezra knew in his soul that it wasn't the case. There was no heaven, or hell here. No life, and death. It all simply was. Ezra didn't know how. It simply all made sense in the truest sense anything could.

A male voice elegant, and posh interrupted his thoughts. "Fascinating, isn't it?" the voice said with a playful chime. "Look for too long, and you could get lost, literally."

Ezra snapped back to reality, abandoning his reverie completely. "Shut up," he said bluntly, coming to face the source with a look of frustration. "I'm trying to contemplate the secrets of the universe here."

"Cold as always, focused and truly pointed," the man sitting across from him chuckled lightly, adjusting his black thick-rimmed glasses with the crimson-red talon-like digits of his gloves. The light glinted off of the lenses, hiding his eyes. But, Ezra got the sense he still had a look of amusement all the same. "Like the tip of your blade, you wound me so."

"I could do it, literally," Ezra suggested blandly, no amusement in his voice at all. "Again. Again. Again. And again, until you're dead. I promise I would make it way less pleasant for you than 2B did."

The man sat back, making a dismissive gesture with a smarmy grin, "Dear Ezra," he said fondly, sounding most intrigued, "do not threaten me with a good time."

Ezra made an annoyed groan, of all the people who could have ended up as his guide in the strange place it had to be him! "Guess you can say that when your fetish is dying. Fucking weirdo."

"The one problem with fulfilling my wish is that you can only do it once," the man admitted, leaning forward. He placed his elbows on the table with the palm of his left hand cradling his sculpted chin, and a finger of his right slid across his neck with unexpected grace and smoothness. Somehow, he made such a grim gesture almost beautiful. Not that Ezra would ever tell this manifestation of annoyance itself that.

"How lucky for you that machines have souls," Ezra said caustically, rolling his eyes in disdain.

"Very fortuitous, indeed," the man said agreeably, smiling at him brightly as a child would. Innocently, and very much purely. "Otherwise, we never would have had the chance to speak at length."

"I sure could have gone without meeting you again," Ezra replied coolly, a deep frown on his face. Yet, a curious light flashed in his hard-cut jade eyes. "So, why are you helping me again…Adam?"

"It simply is, Ezra," the man named Adam replied mysteriously, his reddish eyes sparkling with the same quality as blood, "Besides, I find a true human such as yourself most fascinating. Extremely so." Adam reached across the table, taking hold of Ezra's hand. A show of affection that made Ezra grimace, "I consider you a seeker, much like me. We are much alike, you and I. A connection I'd very much like to deepen."

Ezra brushed the hand from his like one would an insect, "Yeah," Ezra growled, pulling his hand back, shaking it off like it was covered in something most foul, "not happening. Maybe if you were Eugeo. Which you aren't, by the way. And there were no girls left in the multiverse. Even then, I would have to be really desperate. And be fucking plastered out of my mind, high as the Most High on Skooma, and mood in the mood for twink."

Despite the venom, Adam took no offense, just letting out a gentle laugh "Not what I meant," he shrugged with all the elegance of an angel, smiling quite gently. "But if you ever were all of the above, I wouldn't be against it."

There was a long, pregnant pause. Ezra threw up his hands in defeat. There was no winning at all when it came to these mysterious, ethereal types. Riddles would only be responded to with cryptic half-answers. Questions brought about more questions. Adam simply wore an innocently angelic smile. He wasn't sure if he was naïve, crazy, or too smart for his own good. Maybe all the above applied, as scary as that was to consider. It made him shudder internally.

"So, what now?" Ezra inquired impatiently, gesturing to all the many books laid out over the luminous table. About a dozen, or so were piled up all before him. "I did the appointed homework. What am I supposed to do with this? All of this shit was profound. I'm just not sure what this was supposed to teach me."

"It will make sense in time," Adam assured him, gently as a teacher might. "Patience, as you humans say, is a virtue." He stood up from the chair. "Come with me, you seek to know the truth of the universe, allow me to be your guide." With great reluctance, Ezra got up and followed the effeminate white-haired man. If he was going to find any answers, this was going to have to suffice.

As they walked, Ezra could feel the ground forming under his booted feet. He looked down and his eyes goggled in sheer disbelief at the sight, matter materializing from thin air with every step the two men took. "This realm is a very special place, Young Ezra, it's a space that is literally powered by your own imagination. It implicitly knows what you want based on your desires."

"So, you're telling me this realm can give me anything I want?" Ezra asked cautiously, making sure to walk slowly so as to not fall into this pale abyss.

"I suppose I should be more specific. This place is shaped by the desires of the spirit. What you want in the deepest part of your soul." Adam turned to face Ezra, and the light reflected off his lenses once again, and this time his brilliant garnet orbs could be seen. "So let me ask the question…what is your heart's desire?" He reached his hand out, palm open to the limitless ceiling. "What does your soul crave above all else? That is the question you must ask if you want to fulfill your desires."

Ezra paused for a minute. It was a question that cut right to the bone. He folded his arms, realizing it would take every amount of brainpower he had at that moment. A part of him was very grateful for his accelerated reasoning because it was overclocking big time. Sighing, he finally spoke. "I suppose the central thing I want at this very moment is to work out Enno's past, not to mention my other previous incarnations, and learn from their mistakes. If I can't do that, then there's no way I'll be ready to take on the One Great."

Adam smirked, nodding in approval. "Good answer, yes that will be paramount for what is to come. Confronting your own past down through the ages is the only way you can truly prepare your soul for facing this particular enemy. Facing the One Great will be a true test of your spirit. A test that Enno and all the others before you failed abysmally." He let out a light laugh of mirth, a look of great anticipation on his face. "But I think you'll be the one who breaks that streak. You made it this far after all."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess." Ezra made a dismissive wave of his hand. He was hesitant to believe anything Adam was saying. All of this was simply too much. "Still, it all feels like such a tall order. Just seeing what I have so far has proven to be kind of overwhelming. How do I know that I'm really ready for all this?" Ezra groaned inwardly as Adam put his hand on his shoulder, but he was transfixed by his companion's red eyes. The serious expression they radiated almost made them glow with intensity in the light.

"Easy, you don't. All you can do at this point is have faith, and keep moving forward. The road is a long and treacherous one, but the journey is the most important part. Keep your eyes and ears open, observe everything." The man took a step back, making a circular gesture with his hand. He paced in a small circle as he spoke. Looking quite excited, grinning as if he were an innocent child looking forward to going with his parents to the park. It was ironic considering the seriousness of the subject matter. "You think Ragnarök was a major event? Oh, trust me, it's nothing compared to what's waiting for you at the end of the road. This path leads to the final battle of eternity, Armageddon. Literally, all of reality is riding on this, and you were chosen to be the champion that faces the One Great."

"Okay, but I've still got to ask, why me?" He shook his head vigorously; his tremendous confusion only grew. It still didn't make sense to Ezra why he was in this position.

Adam just gave another idle shrug, somehow looking angelically poised all the while. "That is a very good question." He smiled gently, holding a finger up as if it were the point of his argument. "You'll only find the answer by following the path laid out before you. Something that Enno and every other incarnation of you have fallen off into the abyss beneath."

Ezra rolled his eyes, frowning deeply. He felt his mental exhaustion increase with every step. Despite this body being ethereal here, he simply wished to rest. "I could think of a long list of other people who would be far more qualified for this. Kratos and Atreus are at the top of that list. I'm not sure why you're talking to me instead of them. I don't see why I'm so qualified to do this when either of them would be far better suited, practically speaking."

Silvery locks swayed elegantly as Adam shook his head. "I'm afraid the Ghost of Sparta and the Last Champion of the Giants have played their roles up to this point. Granted they will most likely be key players when Armageddon happens, but you are the one who will land the final blow, it was written long before Yesenia gave birth to you. It's not just merely fate, but the all-encompassing will of the Most High himself."

"Oh, really now?" Ezra's anger was beginning to rise now. He commenced clenching his fists. He was beginning to share Kratos's burning hatred of being at the whim of the divines like he was some kind of puppet. "I'm just so important to the big guy huh?" He snapped, glaring deadly daggers at the man-machine hybrid. "I already destroyed the Flower, and look at what it cost me to get there! My Mom? Rose! And that's just scratching the damn surface! Was that all part of his plan too? What else do I have to lose before I finally end it all? Answer that for me!"

Adam was nonplussed, if anything he looked rather amused. "You really misunderstand the situation, don't you?" He began to explain patiently, pushing up his glasses with two fingers. Despite the light reflecting off of the lenses, he could see the grim seriousness in his body language. "The Most High wasn't the one who caused so much pain for you. It was the One Great. He did it to frustrate you, sow doubt in your heart and make you lose hope. Here's the thing though, you haven't broken yet. It's actually quite impressive really. You are possibly one of the most resilient individuals I've ever met. However, pure resolution will not help you win the day. You must train your spirit, harden it so that when the hammer of tribulation comes down, it will be broken and not you."

"So it's not over yet?" Ezra sighed tiredly. Again, Adam gave an elegant shake of his head.

"I'm afraid not. Many more trials and temptations are due in your future. There will be times when you will be presented with an easy choice, one born of logic or your own emotions. You'll have to choose a lesser evil, or be forced to make a choice that will cost you something precious. Which is all the more important you don't buckle under the pressure. The enemy doesn't just fight through physical might or sheer magical force. It's through this." He tapped the side of his head. "Cunning, manipulation. Knowing how a person thinks and pushing their buttons to get exactly the kind of reaction they want. That is the One Great's most powerful weapon."

"Wow, no pressure at all huh?" Ezra just wanted a chair to sink into, and he could feel it behind him. So he sank into it, trying to process everything he had learned, really wanting Lanca to be there in that moment, curled up in his lap to comfort him. "Why does being the Chosen One have to suck so hard?"

Adam summoned a chair of his own and sat down once again. "All I want is for you to understand the enemy, Ezra." He explained patiently. "Exactly who and what it is you're going to be fighting in the future. This won't be like anything you ever encountered before. Goderick and his siblings. Odin, Radagon, even the Elden Beast itself pales in comparison to what the One Great can bring to bear. You came here looking for knowledge, I'm giving it to you."

"You wouldn't by chance have any medicine for the migraine I'm getting at this moment?" Ezra rubbed his temple. Already he he could feel the pressure building up in his sinuses.

This caused Adam to laugh heartily. "Of all the things you want the realm to give you and it's that? You don't even have a physical body right now. It's still lying on the couch in Accord's office while your soul is here in this place." He indicated with his hands, pointing downward into the abyss as white below. Ezra swore he could see the clouds part, and the world below them. All a blue and green marble of grand creation. Awe built up in him as Adam continued on. "Beneath us is the realm of the physical where all the living reside. Above us is where the Most High himself rules from his golden throne. We are currently occupying the area in between the place where all souls gather, a place shaped by perception. A place you've been before."

It was then a switch got flipped in Ezra's head. "After the demonic invasion in Vizima when I passed out." Realization further dawned on Ezra, as he recalled that moment so long ago, his mind was assailed by a stream of images ending with a demonic woman with brilliant red hair and a smile. "This is Purgatorio. I fought Berith here in that shithole dump of a village." He shot up from his seat, his fists clenching up tightly. "Ember…this is where I met Ember for the very first time!"

Adam clapped sharply, not sarcastically. Genuine joy flashed in the man's red eyes along with that oh-so-innocent grin. "Bravo, you're starting to look beyond what your mortal senses can see. This place is a very unique one. It's a repository of knowledge, it all exists here. This is how you were able to see what led to the falling out between Radagon and Marika, the start of the Shattering War, and the beginning of Enno's long descent along the dark path of revenge and madness, eventually leading him to being gripped by the flames of frenzied chaos." Ezra wasn't completely paying attention to Adam's words at that moment. His mind was still fixated on Ember. The good times flashed in the back of his mind, the bad times, and a flash of steel. A final smile as she bled, and slipped from the mortal world entirely.

The vision Potema gave him swimming up from the depths of his memory where he had buried it so long ago. The death of Ember was part of that prophecy, and he had failed to keep it from occurring. It weighed on him so much, even more than Yesenia's demise in some ways. The guilt was showing with how Ezra trembled. Adam could see it himself, but he knew that Ezra had to learn the truth. Otherwise, he would be vulnerable to the One Great. So he cleared his throat, taking a step back. "Clearly this has all been a bit much for you to take in. So I think you've earned a little reward." He snapped his fingers, that grin never leaving his lips for a moment.

It was then darkness descended over Ezra. A pair of gentle hands covered his eyes from behind. They were delicate and feminine, and the palms were very soft. "Guess who?" A light, warm voice rang in his ears. A voice Ezra thought he would never hear again. Suddenly he felt two others each grab one of his hands. "We've missed you so much, Ezra." A second voice, deep and husky spoke. "And it's so nice to see you after all this time!" The third voice was melodic, and high-pitched. "You're still as devastatingly handsome as I remember." A sultry contralto voice was fourth, and long elegant fingers brushed his face. "And we know how much it must have hurt to do what you did." The last voice emanated calm authority. "None of us blame you for it."

"Are you so sure about that…One?" He said as the hands came away, and Ezra locked eyes with a young woman standing in front of him clad in white, her blonde hair cut to shoulder length, framing brilliant crimson red orbs. Her smile was kind, if also a little sad. At a cursory glance, she could be Rose and Lanca's sister, if her hair was even lighter than it already was. "After all, I was the one who ended all of you after the Flower wreaked havoc on your minds." His eyes slowly drifted at the other four young women surrounding him. "I couldn't save any of you, the most I could do was give you a mercy kill."

"Oh how little you understand, Ezra." The busty blonde with a mole on her cheek drawled, shaking her head back and forth. "You did save us in the end. By destroying the Flower, you set all five of us free." Five's cheery smirk faded a little. "Our immediate afterlife was no party."

"No party? It was the most horrific thing ever!" The brunette with her hair in pigtails exclaimed, tears visible in her eyes. "Our souls couldn't rest in peace, Ezra. We were still under the thrall of that damned houseplant. Forced to do its bidding and every minute felt like a century." The girl known as Four was clearly relieved at this.

"It seemed we were forever damned." The girl's very long hair came almost down to her ankles. Her eyes were glassy, burdened by a deep melancholy. Three knew she had done wrong, but hadn't realized just how much pain she had caused. "On many levels, we probably deserved our punishment for the crimes we committed in life."

"But then you came along!" The short-haired blue girl's smile lifted Ezra on many levels, it had been so long since he had seen it. "You, Zero, and Mikhail pushed along and kept going until you were able to draw the Flower out in that final conflict. When you destroyed it, the bonds holding us were severed. So some good came from it after all." Two reminded him, touching his arm gently. The way the light hit her dark blue hair made it look as if she had a halo. It reminded him that she was his angel long ago. He so wanted to hold her once again. "It was like having our eyes opened after being blindfolded for so long."

One rolled her eyes, jealously eying her sister. "As much as I hate to admit it, Two is correct. Thanks to the three of you, we were released from a horrid fate. Every minute we were forced to relive all the atrocities we committed. It wasn't what we wanted. But one thing it couldn't take away from us was our memories of you, your kindness. We knew as long as you were alive. There was a chance for us to be free." She gave a coy smile. "Not to mention sane. I'm sure you like us a whole lot more this way."

"How I wished I could have just spent the rest of my life with you girls in that little cabin in the woods when I first met all of you. It would have been a lot less stressful on all of us." Ezra's gaze swept across the girls, just wondering if there was some other dimension where that indeed had happened. Tears were forming in his eyes. "I'm so sorry girls, can you ever forgive me?" They all moved to embrace him, beginning to cry themselves.

"Didn't you hear us earlier? We forgave you a long time ago, Ezra." One managed through her tears as she rubbed his back as he often did when they were alive. "You are absolved of all blame. There is no hatred in our hearts for you. There never was once." She wiped the fluid away from Ezra's eyes. "But your mission isn't over yet. The Flower may be gone, but the One Great is still very much a threat, and as Adam said. You're the only one who can stop it."

"We'll be watching over you through everything. If you feel the wind on your shoulder, that'll be us!" Two chimed. What was it about her cheerful nature that just made Ezra feel so at ease? Maybe it was how her cerulean hair bobbed around.

"Our prayers will be with you always." Three said barely above a whisper, fingering her purple hair. Despite being the creepiest of the Intoner sisters, she was genuine in her words. He could tell that no matter how weird she seemed to be at times.

"Trust in Mikhail and Lanca," Four sobbed, clenching Ezra's body close to hers, "as well as everyone else." Four's eyes were red from crying. But her tender, melancholy smile filled Ezra with a hope that spread through his entire body, giving him newfound resolve. "They'll be your greatest strength in this trial."

"I'd offer you one for the road, but I'm afraid your time here is almost up." Five glanced to Adam, who had remained silent through the entire thing, who simply nodded pressing the brim of his glasses with one finger.

"I wish I could stay here longer," Ezra said longingly, hoping he could just get a couple more seconds with these girls who meant so much to him. He opened his mouth to express more of his anguish. Suddenly, One planted a gentle kiss right on the lips that silenced his protests.

"You'll get here, eventually." One pulled back after a long moment with a very self-satisfied look on her face. His head was giddily swimming as if it were his first with her. It very much was far from the first, though. "We're not going anywhere." It was then put a warm hand in the middle of his chest, giving him one last yearning look. "But for right now, grow old, grow happy, and then we'll be ready to welcome you with open arms. None of us want to see you here before that happens. And now, you need to get back to work!" With a single shove, Ezra felt himself falling through the white void as his vision blurred and darkened. "Good luck Ezra!" One's voice echoed in the back of his mind.

(Accord's Office)

Ezra awoke with a gasp, he sat up on the couch, looking around frantically. It took him a couple of minutes to get his bearings. He recognized the drab, taupe-shaded walls of Accord's office. His body slackened, but then he took closer note and realized the entire room was completely clean. The files, papers, and numerous binders littering the floor were now neatly arranged on the shelves and in the filing cabinets. "What?" He managed, trying to figure out how long he was asleep for her to do all of this. Accord moved her desk chair to the side of the sofa.

"Ah, you finally woke up from your little nap!" She chimed, the light reflecting off the lenses of her classes. "I'm guessing you had a very good session?" He tried to sit up, only for her to stop him and push him back down. "Easy now, you've been through quite the mental ordeal." She ordered firmly, shoving a glass of water into his hand. "Have a drink and rest for a little bit."

He took a moment as ordered, sipping at the water. Its cool essence soothed his dry throat. He finally felt as if he was coming back into himself, his groggy confusion was beginning to wane.

"What the hell was that?" He uttered, shaking his head slowly. He was still trying to make heads or tails of the whole thing. His memory was foggy, while he could sort of recall what happened in the first part of the dream, the second part was a huge haze. No matter how hard he tried to recall, it was just out of reach. To cap it all off for some reason, a deep sadness permeated his being, the source of it he couldn't nail down at that moment.

"A very special hypnotherapy technique developed in my world." Accord announced proudly, sticking her chest out. "I must say it produced some very interesting results. I was hoping by doing this would help lead us to your previous lives, but what I did see." She was madly writing things down in a notebook that Ezra swore hadn't been there a couple of seconds ago. "Just wow!" She exclaimed in awe, and the scribbling in her notebook became loudly noticeable. "I can't believe you were able to see that. I can only assume it's some kind of genetic memory, but you actually saw the Shattering! The very moment Marika destroyed the Elden Ring! You even saw it through her very eyes. Oh, it's a good thing I was recording the whole time, I know It's going to require at least a couple of rewatches to see the entire thing."

Ezra shook his head once again, watching the android's hurriedly excited rambling as she took her notes with a disbelieving look. "If I'm that wiped out from a little nap as you put it, I hate to think what would happen if you put me down for a whole night's sleep." He groaned as he gripped his forehead. He began rubbing at his temples with two fingers each. "I'm not sure I can completely unsee that. I could feel the sorrow in Marika's every strike of the hammer, and Radagon's true belief that destroying the Elden Ring would just lead to more trouble down the line." His hand clenched his chest. "I don't know why I feel this way, but there's just this deep sadness in me." Pure unadulterated tears began escaping Ezra. He openly wept, and sobbed like a young child without knowing why. "It doesn't make any sense though!"

"Oh no!" Accord cried, grabbing some tissues from the table. "Here take this!" Ezra snatched them away. He began wiping his eyes and nose, but the river kept flowing without any sign of the tide being stemmed. "This wasn't supposed to happen! Is this some kind of backlash effect going on here? I suppose that happens when you use it on a human for the first time." She continued aloud, desperately trying to analyze the situation as she panicked. "It was invented before the collapse of human civilization on my Earth, so I guess some good could still come from this after all."

Ezra buried his face in his hands, still not able to contend with the flow of emotions. "Would you stop being so fucking clinical and hug me already, you dumb walking pile of circuits?" He threw his arms around Accord, embracing her tight as his salty tears continued to flow. Poor Accord was very flustered at this turn of events. The office door opened at that moment admitting Noa, and throwing a huge can of gasoline on an ever-spreading fire.

The tall girl's lips immediately spread into an enraged sneer, and her right eye flashed bright green for the barest second as her glare narrowed into something truly dangerous. "What in the hell is going on here?" She demanded, hand dramatically cutting the air. "Ezra, it's not enough you have all of us, now you're getting it on with Accord of all people? Have you no shame at all?"

"Wait! This is not what you think it is!" Accord stood up suddenly, hoping to placate Noa. The android girl knew all too well of how strong the enforcer of Ezra's harem was, not to mention how short her fuse could be at times. Accord really didn't want to be dismembered, it was such a hassle to put herself back together when that happened. She didn't get any farther as Noa forced her way past Accord and pulled the still-weeping Ezra to his feet.

"I will pretend I did not see anything on the grounds of how much help you and your sisters have given to us over the years. We are very appreciative of the sacrifice your predecessor made to help us." Noa said briskly, looming over Accord threateningly as she leaned forward with her hand on her hip. Accord wondered how her heart could be beating so fast when she knew for a fact that she didn't even have one. "But know this, Ezra's harem is full enough already. No one else needs to apply because we're not hiring!" She dragged him out of the office, leaving Accord to sink down onto the couch, relieved that Noa wasn't in a more bloodthirsty mood.

In the hallway outside the office, Noa propped Ezra against the wall, before hugging him tightly, letting the trails of salty water moisten her short-sleeved kimono. "Here, if this is what you needed, then come to me, not some steel automaton that can only emulate emotion." Ezra sniffled and looked into her eyes, taking a few deep breaths and finally calming down some. Her lips twitched upward just slightly. "Feel better now?" He nodded, offering a small, sad smile. He sniffled one final time, looking quite ridiculous with a bit of snot dribbling out of his nose.

Noa couldn't help wondering how he was once king looking like this. It was simply too funny, in an endearing way. It made the kunoichi lay a simple peck on his cheek out of sheer affection regardless of his icky fluids. As well as out of impulse. Drat. She was getting sloppy at hiding anything from him. Not that anyone was here to witness it.

She watched him shyly fiddle with the zipper of his jacket in response. He had no words. He only looked away shyly like a grade-schooler. They had been married for a year, and some change. Yet, he still acted like a child. It made her want to kiss him more. Noa restrained herself from letting things become a full-on make-out session right by Accord's office. She couldn't let herself become the subject of the automaton's perverse notes again.

"Good," Noa said approvingly, clearing his cheek of one stray tear. She straightened out her man's wrinkled clothes with a flick of her wrist, and a small word. A refreshment spell came with a holy flash of light. All signs of tears, snot, and wrinkles were abandoned to the ether. It was then she nodded in appreciation at the improvement of Ezra's presentation. "Come on, let's get back to the ship." The two departed the building, holding hands the entire way. Ezra found it calming, Noa's hand wasn't baby smooth like Niamh or Phoebe's, but it was close.

The Fiertia was docked in the port. Ezra was really just wanting to rest in his quarters and reflect on the things he had seen during his vision. The part with Marika and Radagon was pretty straightforward enough. The despair Marika felt was clear, not to mention Radagon's belief that the Elden Ring was necessary to keep the order of the world. The scenes with Enno were a bit blurrier. But he could feel a dark rage inside him. It was all still a lot to take in. Not to mention the gap in his memory from after that. They arrived on the deck, standing at the rail taking in the salty air of the ocean.

"I don't know what is it about the ocean, but I do know that it always seems to calm me," Ezra remarked calmly, watching the slowly undulating waves lap against the rigid planks of the boat. He could even see the slight outline of fish swimming in the depths.

Noa harrumphed, sliding closer to her husband. She secretly relished the feeling of his warmth. She wouldn't say it, but it made the normally stoic kunoichi quite giddy. All secretly since she had an image to maintain. "Yeah, I find the sea has that same effect on me. Fianna and I would always train at the beach. Of course, half the time she would be off chasing after whatever cute girls would be staying nearby. She always seemed to be able to sniff them out." She shook her head, smiling fondly despite herself. "I have to give her credit though, no matter what lengths I'd go to try and isolate her, Fianna would always find a way to slip through the cracks, and all I had to do was follow the squeals. But what can I say? She's like a little sister to me and I have to look out for her."

Ezra then surprised Noa by pulling her into his arms. "Hey!" She cried out, her face lighting up, finding herself fully transfixed by his emerald green gaze and that all-too-familiar gentle smile. Her right eye lit up a brilliant, almost neon, green hue. A light smirk crossed her lips, feeling the warmth of her flushed cheeks. "Oh, you always have to be this way." She gently brushed her fingers against his neck. "Then again, I never did complain when you showed me affection." They both leaned in for a gentle kiss as the heat rose from within her entire body. She let out a desire-filled moan right as their lips met. His touch gentle touch on the right places struck her with a feeling of static electricity throughout her being.

The mask had finally fallen away. Noa was ready to let go of her defenses, and let her feminine side take control. She was prepared to-

"Ahem!" Of course, the moment had to be ruined as Ezra and Noa saw a short, squat, and barrel-chested man standing there with a knowing smirk. "Please excuse me for spoiling your lover's time." He spoke in a deep baritone if buttery smooth voice. The gold hoop earring swung with every exaggerated step. Everything about the man was a Dwarf, but he so went against the grain with something so simple. It was deceptively simple that Noa couldn't believe it when she first met him. He was a Dwarf without a beard! Merely light red, almost blonde stubble imposed on a stunningly square chin, and chiseled jawline. A handsome one, Noa had to admit. "I'm glad you're showing initiative with this. But speaking as a concerned friend, might I suggest going down to the hold for the next step, unless PDAs are in Lady Noa's wheelhouse? Then again, I'm not the type to judge, given how Bianca and I were doing our thing earlier."

"Is that a fact, Varric?" Ezra chuckled lightly, gesturing to the crossbow on the Dwarf's back. "So which Bianca were you having your fun with today? The crossbow or the person?" Ezra didn't have to wait long to get his answer before another person, female this time, emerged from below decks. Like Varric she was short and squat. Her face was obscured by the white hood over her head. "Ah, so you were having a dwarven threesome then, Varric? Bianca and Bianca? That sounds so."

"Scandalous? Salacious?" Varric drawled, putting an arm around Bianca's shoulder. "Those two are the only threesome I'd ever let myself be involved with. Let's face it, I'll probably never get that lucky again, right dear?" This earned him an elbow to the ribs. "Then again your sexual exploits are pretty legendary in their own right, especially that fivesome Fianna keeps talking about." Now it was Ezra's turn to be embarrassed. Of course, Varric would be interested in that kind of thing.

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Oh, give it a rest you Casanova!" She gave Ezra a long-suffering sigh, far too used to her partner's antics as she wrenched herself free of his affectionate grasp. "If you're looking for your companions, Lowell and Capel sent them off the ship because the Blastia on the engine needed a tune-up. Your little ninja friend here decided to stick around because she knew you would come back." Noa blushed slightly at the knowing smirk the female dwarf gave her. That one eye glowed brighter than ever before in concert with her flushed face. "Varric and I both thought she was rather clever like that. Then again, you were never the type to pick any vapid maiden to be in your little love group."

Ezra directed a surprised look at Noa. She smiled bashfully, scratching her chin as she looked away with a slight blush. "Okay, so I doubled back and I was going to wait for you. It's not like we have many chances to just be alone. If it's not Felecia, then it's Lanca, or Furiae, or Phoebe, or Fianna." Ezra didn't think Noa was capable of such an adorable pout that would be more in place on Mikhail or Ronye's face. Lanca certainly had made some adorable pouty faces since meeting her. "I hardly ever get any time just for the two of us. Fianna's not the only opportunist. I saw a chance and I took it."

"Like we said, go ahead and have your fun!" Varric encouraged the young couple, giving Ezra a friendly clap on the back with his leather-gloved hand. "We can work just fine with the noise. It's not the first time and it certainly won't be the last either."

"Ah yes, it's not high we can't endure. Besides, we have this miraculous new invention the guild just came up with." Varric held up two small pieces of cylindrical-shaped rubber. "We're calling them 'earplugs' They're incredible." He stuffed them into his ears to demonstrate, letting out a self-satisfied chortle. "Ha! Ha! A perfect fit! You stick these little beauties in, no sound at all! They're a very hot item, selling them like hotcakes. I'm richer than the Maker now!"

This earned him another elbow to the ribs from Bianca, not that it seemed to bother Varric, he knew it was her way of showing affection to him and she was always so cute when she got angry. Why else would he stay with her in the first place? "Oh please!" Bianca groaned exasperatedly, shaking her head. As if you weren't wealthy already! Not everyone has their own personal spy network to draw upon at a moment's notice!"

"Hey! Corporate espionage is a very important part of my business model." Varric protested, popping the earplugs out at once. "I started out with only two guys and just enough coin to spread around to get about half a dozen people talking. Let's face it, it took quite a while to get even those people on board. They say every man has their price, but some are just harder to break than others. One of them made the most exorbitant demands before he'd give up his company's secrets. Oh, he really knew how to negotiate."

Bianca surprised everyone by suddenly kissing him right on the lips. When the kiss broke, Varric wore a shit-eating grin and Bianca just gave him a sardonic little smirk before winking at him. "There, if just to keep you from telling any more of your ridiculous stories," Bianca scoffed, glancing at Ezra and Noa with a look of warmth. "Don't worry about the engine, it will get done. You two go off to the hold or wherever and have your fun."

"Yeah, you go do that," Varric added, his voice slightly goofy from the kiss. "And let my sweet Bianca and I have our own fun." He made an exaggerated shooing gesture, gifting them a playful grin. "That engine won't fix itself." Ezra looked to Noa, wearing a smile Fianna would have given her daggers for. The titter escaped her lips paired with the blue, and green heterochromatic bedroom gaze indicating what she wanted to do next. Grabbing hold of Noa's hand, they made for the hold with youthful gusto. It wasn't just Judith and Yuri who liked spending their time alone there.

(Later That Night)

It was a lovely inviting evening in the port, so the table was now on the deck of the Fiertia. Tonight's meal was island themed with an open tiki bar. Everyone was enjoying the warm summer air. The cast had shifted this time. Raphtalia was not present, having taken a mission with Shiloh, Leilani, Niamh, and Dinae in another part of the continent. Mikhail looked adorable in a white t-shirt and dark blue shorts, standing next to Ezra as he was grilling up a large swordfish that he and Kyana had caught earlier that day. The girl in question was standing on the plank extended over the side of the ship. Brave Vesperia's resident forest girl wore a bikini the same shade of green as the trees she loved jumping through. Hands raised overhead, and Kyana did a perfect dive into the water where Estelle and Lanca were currently swimming.

Felecia was currently lying on her stomach on a colorful blanket, clad in a one-piece racerback bathing suit. She had gone for a swim earlier and was now drying herself off. The center panel was in the deep royal blue she preferred while the side panels were a lighter shade of blue. It clung to her upper torso in all the ways Ezra liked. The differing shades of blue made her eyes light up all the more, and made her skin all the brighter. The straw hat with a ribbon the same shade of blue as her suit was just something that made her look particularly cute. But the way she blew him a kiss and waved at him playfully made him think she had a little Fianna in her.

Phoebe lay next to her, looking rather self-conscious in her own suit, not many people knew just how stacked she was under that heavy coat she wore all the time. But now it was on full display, the strapless dark blue one-piece barely keeping her chest in. Her hair was in a simple, single braid, draping off her shoulder. The mage also had a sunhat, the same color as her bathing suit. Felecia gently nudged her, indicating to wave to their man. Phoebe waved shyly, smiling as she blushed, one hand near her face as elegant fingers curled in a weak attempt to hide her face. Ezra just thought it was so cute how shy Phoebe could be even though they had been married for a year and then some now.

It was then Felecia wrapped her arm around her and gave a light smooch on the lips. Phoebe's blush intensified even more as her hands came up to her face. Ezra grinned and waved back, thinking there was an element of romance between the girls. Phoebe and Felecia were the first to go that way. He found it weird that he wasn't jealous, musing as they deliberately didn't leave him out in the arena of romance or the bedroom. Especially in the bedroom, Ezra thought lasciviously with a naughty half-smile.

Either way, it was good to see how close they had all become. They were joined by both Mikhail and Furiae, the latter wearing a single-shoulder one-piece in brilliant wine red, her hair done up in a bun. It was so cute to see the boy passed between all three women, taking turns sitting in their laps as they fawned over their shared son.

A loud roar came from the bar and his gaze went to where Varric and Raven were currently seeing who could get sloshed first before needing to run to the side and puke his guts out. Yuri and Judith were observing the events. The latter wearing a simple black bikini that showed off her very ample figure. From the looks of things Varric was about eight sheets to the wind, but Raven was hanging in there. "You know what? You're cute!" Raven slurred, tapping Varric on the shoulder. "I'm cute, you're cute! Everybody is cute! But in purple I am STUNNING!" Getting roars from Judith and Fianna, wearing a cutout one piece that showed off her hips and back, Ezra never got tired of looking at her legs, they went on for miles.

A splash and the sound of bare feet against the wooden boards of the deck indicated one of the girls had come from their swim. Ezra was glad his board shorts were loose because he knew they were tightened up at the sight of a certain princess who just came up. Clad in a red bikini with a flower print, black straps, and ribbons tying it together. The red really captured the pink of her hair. It made Ezra recall the first time he laid eyes on her at the castle chapel. She took the offered towel from Rita who dried her hair. It was clear to everyone that it wasn't just Ezra who was looking at Estelle with a goofy grin and blushing slightly. Estelle just cocked her head innocently, that captivating, angelic look in her emerald eyes gleaming in the lamplight.

Ezra's gaze fell on the white-gold chain sparkling around her neck. More specifically a ring with a single diamond. He had given Estelle that ring after an incident where an ally and trusted friend had died in a very unexpected and violent fashion. It was something that haunted Estelle even now and she blamed herself for it. But Ezra wasn't about to let her go down that same spiral of grief he did. He confronted her on the deck of this very ship under the stars, and finally confessed everything to Estelle. This solidified their relationship and made both of them happier than before. A promise had been made that night, when the whole crisis was over, they would get married. It wasn't lost on Ezra that he would marry into another royal family, but he didn't care, just as long as he could return to Zaphias and be with these women.

Lanca was quick to follow up the ladder with a light splash, wearing a halter-neck white one-piece trimmed in gold. Her white hair was tied up in a side ponytail. Finding that Estelle was just standing there, the Ivory Maiden gave the pink-haired princess a gentle nudge. Estelle quickly moved aside and Lanca then looked at Rita. "Well, where's my towel?" She asked with a beam, folding her arms faux impatiently. Rita just rolled her eyes, chucking a towel at her, which Lanca deftly caught out of the air. "Thank you!" She chimed, noting how Ezra was looking right at her. It was clear how much he adored all the girls, but especially Estelle at that moment. The Maiden respected that about her man.

Of course, Lanca decided to have some fun at Ezra's expense. She wrapped her arms around Estelle, purposefully rubbing her chest against the princess's back, making Estelle start blushing. Lanca threw a flirty wink and a smile at him before mouthing. "I know you want this sooo bad." Estelle took note of Ezra and smiled at him in a very bashful fashion, her fingers wrapped in the shiny white-gold chain with her cheeks flushed cherry red. Ezra took in the sight of Lanca's body pressing against Estelle from the back. He smirked and nodded, thinking that yes, he did want that very much. Ezra saw Noa side-eying him, giving him a disapproving and jealous pout. Her mismatched eye made her look like the picture of the green-eyed monster.

"Ah, this is a fantastic party, Ezra!" Varric burped loudly as he set his tankard on the bar with a loud thud. Yuri gladly began pouring another round into it "The food is good, and the hooch is even better! This was a great idea to have this little beach party." He grinned at the sight of the girls, namely Lanca sitting down with Phoebe's group as she pulled Mikhail into her lap and began loving on him. "I can think of plenty of reasons to be grateful for it."

Ezra chuckled, watching Mikhail get passed around, Felecia pressing him into her chest. "That much is certain. After all the fights and having to deal with the upcoming battle with the One Great. We needed a change of pace. The ladies all do look particularly fine tonight." He paused, taking the meat off the grill to cut some of the meat from the fish. "I suppose it's time to move on to the second chapter." Varric looked at him questioningly, blinking at the young man for a moment before comprehension came onto his grizzled features. Ezra nodded slightly, taking his time to carefully cut the meat with the sharp, sharp knife. He dreaded how the girls would fret if he cut himself once more. Practice made perfect, though. He hadn't injured himself during kitchen duty recently. "Rita wanted to know more about where we came from so, I've been regaling them with my life story. It's become something of a tradition to sit around the table at dinner time and walk down memory lane. Things are going to get interesting real soon."

"Ah, then it sounds like I came at just the right time!" Varric suddenly was very excited at this prospect, a smarmy if devious grin curling the corners of his mouth upwards. "After all I'm quite the storyteller myself. I'm quite hurt you didn't tell me about you spinning your whole autobiography sooner, Ezra. I could get quite a bit of mileage out of it. I can already see it now! Every hero has their starting point, no one knew of where the Thronebreaker's humble origins started. Oh, I can already see the Gald rolling in."

"Oh please!" Noa piped up from the other side of the bar, scoffing at Varric. That aside, she looked remarkable in a purple camisole top, and matching shorts even as she put on her best frowny face. "You're worse than Dandelion in that regard, Varric," their resident kunoichi jabbed an accusatory finger at him, throwing in a look of revulsion to match. "That tripe you wrote about Ezra's rise to the throne is some of the most exaggerated tripe any of us ever read and that's saying something!" Ezra groaned, palming his face merely at the thought of what she spoke of. 'The Rise of the Thronebreaker.' the story told of the war he started to overthrow the Imperium and his ascension as High King of Midgard HAD been embellished to a ludicrous order. No surprise that it became a bestseller across Midgard. Fianna loved every minute of it, of course.

Varric puffed his chest out indignantly, looking more like an angry rooster somehow. "Oh, come off it, Noa." He protested, waving a dismissive hand as his nose crinkled in annoyance. The way the scar on the bridge of his nose scrunched up was too funny to witness as Ezra cracked a grin at the exchange. "No one expected this dark horse to come out of nowhere and actually pull the entire thing off. They wanted to know more about their new ruler, and I delivered! But…" He trailed off, laying his gaze on the young man. Curiosity sparkled in the older man's brown eyes. "I'm more intrigued at learning of your earliest days, Ezra. It sounds like you had quite a few adventures before we met. You certainly didn't waste any time gathering such a lovely assortment of strong, beautiful women around you."

"I know I said it earlier it's still weird how most of the girls that you married are princesses." Karol piped up, having been helping Yuri cook the fish earlier. They were now slicing off the meat and cutting it up to be grilled. "What did you do to manage to get so many of royal blood interested in you is beyond me," Rita answered with her usual angry growl and slap to the upside of the young co-founder of Brave Vesperia's head. "Ow! What was that for Rita? It was a perfectly legitimate question!"

"Get it through your thick skull why don't you?" Rita couldn't believe his obliviousness sometimes. Everyone just settled back for the usual bickering between the two, although Ezra noted a glint in Karol's eyes and his fingers twitching as Rita went on in her usual manner. "You really think he'd marry just any commoner off the street? Just when I think you couldn't be any more naive and stupid, you manage to exceed my expectations!"

Karol's eyes flared and the growl escaping from his lips made Rita take a step back. "You call me naive and stupid? Perhaps you should try looking in the mirror sometime when it comes to being clueless! This is why you'll never have Estelle in a million years!" He pointed to where Estelle and Lanca were chatting it up, sneering at the young mage. "Take a good long look, because this is as close as you'll ever get!" Rita was dumbstruck as Karol stomped off victoriously. He glanced at Raven who raised a glass to him. It wasn't often he got a decisive victory over Rita, but he would take it regardless.

The mage in question was livid, small motes of flame dancing around her fingers, ready to barbecue the little pipsqueak, only for Yuri put a hand on Rita's shoulder. "Just let it rest for today, Rita. We don't need the drama." The flames dancing on her hands faded as she bowed her head. "It doesn't matter who's bagging who. This day is supposed to be one of rest and fun." It was then Judith came up and glued herself to Yuri's side.

"Funny you say it doesn't matter who's bagging who. You were singing a very different tune the other night." The Krityan drawled, purposely rubbing her breasts into his side. Yuri put his arm around her, and gave her a very deep kiss. Rita's face screwed up in disgust and she turned away, wanting nothing more than to run to the side of the ship at that moment. She didn't care if any of their companions were beneath when she launched her vomit bombs. It was their own fault. "Yeah, that's more like it." Judith purred.

"What can I say, You just seem to know how to push my buttons to get me to say whatever you want," Yuri said with a debonair grin, drinking in those luscious violet eyes of hers. "Not to mention your inherent flexibility in bed doesn't hurt either." Now it was Karol's turn to want to gag. Despite how much he and Rita could get at odds, they hadn't hit the milestone that was puberty yet, and thus their hormones were still very much dormant, so just hearing about this kind of thing made them sick.

"We'll try that out later tonight." Judith gave him another kiss. Her breasts heaved against her black bikini top.

Raven just shook his head before knocking back another pint of his favorite lager with a shrill bird-like cackle. "Oh, I guess it's the Crow's Nest for me tonight. The hold will be occupado as always!"

The fire mage wanted nothing more than gouge her eyes out at the lovey-dovey nonsense happening around her at that moment. "I really need to look into magic that can blank my memory. I think I'll need it later tonight." Rita huffed as Karol came up beside her.

"When you do, be sure to give me some of it as well," Karol said as Mikhail walked over with Furiae, innocently oblivious to the naughty insinuations entirely. Karol thought the dragon boy's naive optimism was irritating at times. He was still a nice boy and his own age and when you didn't have many friends your own age. You took what you could get.

"Sorry, you'll have to suffer like so many others." Rita snapped, her gorge rising at how into each other their leader was being with the guild's resident Krityan. Could their tongues reach deeper into each other's mouths? "Maybe I should ask Varric about those earplugs of his." She made a disgusted face, musing aloud. "I should have plenty of Gald after our last mission. Perhaps I should also give the hold a nice dose of cleansing fire, who knows what gets left in there? The whole place needs a good purification and exorcism."

It was then Mikhail froze, stammering in fright. "Wait, did you say exorcism? Like in…g-ghosts?" He shivered all over, despite it being in the nineties. Furiae was quick to hug him. "I keep hearing things in the hold late at night. Don't tell me there are ghosts down there!" His pink eyes teared up as he buried his face into the cleric's stomach. "Ghosts are scary, Furiae! Don't let them get me!" Furiae's mothering instincts were on full surge as she whispered softly to her young charge, trying to comfort him when Varric waltzed over, a slightly evil grin on his face.

"Oh, don't I know that, little man." Varric started, darkly chuckling. He raised a single finger as he leaned forward. "It's a well-known fact that the cargo hold is often the most haunted place on ships." Mikhail's whimpers increased, and Furiae's grip tightened. Varric let out a sinister chuckle. "I know all kinds of stories about haunted ships and the horrific crimes that have taken place in those doomed holds. It would turn that brilliant white hair of yours dark black from pure shock." That was about as far as he got when he suddenly looked up straight into the face of the once Goddess of the Seal. Furiae wore a very pleasant smile that was totally at odds with the roiling fury in her eyes. She gently set Mikhail aside and produced her mace from somewhere, golden runes flickering on the air.

"I'm sure they're all wonderful stories, Varric. But this isn't the time and place to speak of them. I would prefer not to hear about your latest corporate takeover. In fact, if you ever do decide to traumatize Mikhail. I'll start a corporate takeover of my own, on your face!" She said that last part loudly, drawing everyone's attention, while she brandished the heavy iron club for emphasis, sparks of lightning arcing over the flanged metal head as she lightly tapped it in her delicate hand. All the while never losing that devilishly pleasant smile.

Varric shrank back, knowing the harem's resident cleric would deliver on the said threat. He remembered how fast she could bring that thing down on somebody's head. "Whoa, easy there, Madam von Smashy! I would never dream of doing any kind of serious harm to the boy. I'm just trying to have some fun with him. You get worked up way too easily. May I suggest some long-term therapy for you that anger problem of yours, Furiae?"

She just grunted while giving him a condescending glare. "Therapy? What's that supposed to be? Never heard of it before." The mace went to her shoulder as several members of the Kanitz family harem came to join them. "I have my own therapy. It's called smashing things to a pulp. It's actually very relaxing!"

"If it's therapy that Furiae needs, then I'm more than willing to help her out!" Lanca piped up, placing her hand on her heart. "After all, I'm the perfect image of mental health. Who better to help Furiae overcome her issues?" For those who knew her best could see much of her old bluster from when they first met in the depths of the earth shining through. Most of the girls just looked at Lanca and shook their heads. Smart and capable as Lanca was, she was no more a headshrinker than Yuri was a tap dancer. Furiae grunted in irritation one more time before taking a seat at the bar.

"I don't think she's convinced, Lan," Noa said, sliding Furiae a drink which she began nursing with a scowl on her face. Noa glanced at Furiae with caution before returning her attention to Lanca, whom she eyed disapprovingly. "But to be fair, if you quit hogging Ezra so much, then I will fully support the endeavor. Because let's face it, girl. You are the worst when it comes to dominating Ezra's time. Don't try to deny it either. You're an Ezra freak. It seems like you're always glued to his side, right?" Noa nudged Furiae, who only responded with an angst-filled, plaintive nod as she sipped at her drink. "I mean probably the only person more addicted to Ezra than you is Konoha, and that's only by a very narrow margin."

Lanca shyly flushed, losing all her former bluster as she looked away. Despite her pride, she was easily embarrassed by anything related to her intimate matters having to do with their mutually shared beau. Lanca did open her mouth to offer some apology, or perhaps a poor excuse for her Ezra-based gluttony. Sadly, she was cut off by a certain dandelion-haired girl. Whatever it was, it would remain unknown as Lanca cast a frustrated glare at her fellow wife.

"Oh, isn't that truth!" Felecia added heatedly, having joined the conversation, currently dangling a loose piece of fishing line in front of Mikhail to keep him occupied. Mikhail hopped up and down as she played keep away with his potential snack. Felecia flashed an amused grin for a moment before making a severely annoyed face, as if she'd sucked on a lemon. "If there was anyone more addicted to Ezra it would be Konoha," she groaned, running a rough hand through her bright yellow-hued hair. "Let's face it, our other Future Girl has a very healthy set of lungs. My quarters are on the clear other side of the boat, and I could hear them both plain as day. Must be the enhancements Luciferase gave her."

"That girl certainly is something else." Kyana concurred with a snort, ruffling their resident dragon boy's white hair affectionately. Her eyebrows drooped slightly. "I've been worried about her ever since she and her team set off on their mission to see if they could find anything pertaining to that cult Alexei and his goons were part of." She directed a curious, if concerned look, look to Phoebe. "Have we heard anything about her yet, Phoebe?"

The blue-haired Glintstone mage just shook her head, looking just as worried. "I'm afraid not. She did say that it would require her to go dark for a while." Phoebe hugged her chest, even as Felecia gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I just hope she's eating well and not getting into too much trouble. Even with Alexei out of the picture, there's still so many unanswered questions." Mikhail went over to give Phoebe a hug, having forgotten the fish entirely. She smiled brightly, picked the young boy up in her arms, and sat down in a lounge chair with him. Phoebe smiled contently as she cuddled with their son. Mikhail let out a pleased noise for once, not struggling to escape. He really did have a way of calming anxiety.

"I've been keeping my ear to the ground, but nothing has come up yet. I suppose that's good news in one way." Fianna said blandly, idly cooling herself with an exotic-looking feathered fan. "It means she hasn't found any of the cult's holdouts yet." She closed the fan with a sound click. Fianna suddenly gained a intense, piercing look in her blue eyes. If there was one thing she took with the utmost significance, it was the topic of espionage. "Even with Alexei doing his best worm food impression, they're still a very formidable threat. And there's nothing to say the One Great doesn't have other sleeper agents in place. Let's face it, doesn't take much for someone like that to get inside anyone's head and twist them to do his bidding. There's just a lot of uncontrolled variables in play right now."

Raven sighed as he pushed his hat up, scowling at the mention of his former master, and the sick bastards he represented. "Yeah, the cult was highly decentralized and compartmentalized from each other. None of the cell leaders knew where the others were located. Not even I knew about the location of every cell, and I was Alexei's right-hand man through the entire fiasco." He gazed out at the horizon, dragging on his ale. "It all seems like a lifetime ago when I really think about it." This elicited laughs from Ezra, Judith, and Yuri, all struggling to keep on their feet while the oldest member of Brave Vesperia just looked in mild confusion. "And what pray tell did I say is so funny to you kids?"

"Pfft…! A lifetime ago? Raven, it was literally last month when all that happened!" Yuri proclaimed, giving a dismissive wave.

"Yeah man, even I have to call bullshit on that one," Ezra agreed lightly, a silly grin cracking his face.

Raven huffed, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "It felt like a lifetime ago, kids." He put his hand to his chest, touching the very device that kept him breathing. The Blastia that powered his very core thrummed, glowing for a moment beneath his shirt. "One day you kids will understand the hardships of being an old man so give me a tiny little bit of respect!" Raven put on the theatrical ham full force, getting laughs from Yuri, Ezra, and everyone else as he looked faux faint. His acting chops were something to behold. "Oh, why I think my heart could give out at any moment! Is this truly the end of the great corsair Raven? Is this the sum total of my great legacy upon Terca Lumireis?"

"Oh, don't even start with that!" Yuri jerked his tankard at him, the liquid within giving a sound plop. "Here, if just to shut you up. You don't get to check out that easily! You still have a debt to pay to Brave Vesperia. Which means your ass belongs to us. And I will have Rita restart that Blastia in your chest as many times as needed in order for you to clear out that red in your ledger. So drink up and enjoy the ride."

Raven chortled mirthfully, raising his glass in a toast to their leader.

"If it helps, Raven. I forgive you for the whole kidnapping." Estelle said gently, her hands demurely folded in front of her. The older man took hold of the Princess's hands, giving them a gentle kiss. The tender princess let out an innocent chuckle.

"Oh, bless you, Your Highness. You have such a loving, kind heart and the soul of a true angel. I am blessed to be at your service." He sniffled, putting on a big show of affection.

Ezra had enough at that point, rolling his eyes at the old man's theatrics. He banged his tankard on the bar top impatiently. "As much as I'm enjoying this whole thing, we do need to get back on track. There's still a lot to discuss. Pull up a chair or some floor, it's time to resume my tale." The atmosphere quieted as all eyes were riveted on him, Estelle sitting on his left while Felecia sat on his right, Mikhail perched in her lap.

"I know all of you have been waiting to find out what happened when we left Vizima." Ezra quietly fostered his ale, his soft gaze drifted over all his friends and adopted family. "Our ultimate destination was the Free City of Novigrad, situated between the borders of Temeria and Redania. But after the demon attack caused by Potema and the battle with Rodger on the bridge. We needed to lie low for a bit. We stopped in Erik and Felecia's hometown of Mountain Glen to wait until the heat died down before moving on."

(Mountain Glenn High Road)

Three hours had passed since our flight from Vizima. The trip had been uneventful, which was lucky for us. We had enough excitement for right now, between the sudden demonic infestation and whatever the hell happened with Rodger. I could still see his disembodied torso seconds before the Daedroth ended him, those last fear-driven words forever echoing in my mind. Aside from that it was a gorgeous day, if a little on the hot side. We were all just enjoying the leisurely ride as the wagon creaked its way down the dusty road. Kyana was laying on the floor using Farram as a pillow. Erik sat looking out the window, eyes focused on the ever-larger trees lining the road.

Rose was making a point to stay close to me, resting her head on my shoulder. Something that was really grating on Felecia's nerves, judging from the way she was glaring at me across the room, sitting on the floor next to Erik. But no one did or said anything. We were all so tired and no one felt like engaging in any drama. Luckily Fianna decided to break up the awkward silence in only the way she knew how to do. "Wow, this is a real party." She remarked, sliding into the back of the wagon with us. "A dull one at that, oh well, I think I can make things fun."

Her gaze fell on Rose who just gave a contemptuous glare back at her. "Hey, Rosie, it's a surprise to see you here. Probably a good thing since the Datura was burned to the ground. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" This just earned her a slight grunt from our resident white-haired bitch, not to mention murderous glares from my other female companions. Erik was absorbed in looking out the window, clearly not wanting to get involved in the petty sniping. One thing about Fianna, she knew how to read a room. "What's the story, Ezra? If I didn't know any better, I'd say everyone here is mad at you."

"They just can't accept the fact that the idiot here purchased me from slavery." Rose snorted, flipping her hair in the most passive-aggressive way possible. "If they didn't want me along for the ride, perhaps they should have taken it up with him first." I'm pretty sure if Kyana and Felecia had the strength they would have strangled her, or just chucked her out of the wagon and prayed she landed on her head. Fianna then looked at me and I just shrugged, it wasn't like I had a lot of energy myself.

Fianna in turn started looking Rose over before a very perverse smile crossed her face, showing those pearly whites. "Mm, I see I see." She drew out that last E intentionally, that smile turning incredibly naughty. "I get it now, Ezra. You bought Rosie because you like the bad pussy. I guess it shows what type of woman you're interested in. I mean let's face it, you've got some choice piece of ass between your petite little elf girl." Felecia started blushing, clicking her tongue in disdain. "Not to mention your pretty little woodland ginger who likes jumping off high places. It was a pretty good swan dive by the way." She flirtingly winked at Kyana when she said that. Kyana harrumphed, sticking her tongue out at the performer. That only caused the flames in Fianna's eyes to grow hotter with desire.

"And yet you go for the chick with the experience. I'll admit that Rose is a pretty decent choice, given how vocal she can be." Fianna didn't pay any mind to the low growl coming from Rose's quivering lips. "But if that's what you wanted Ezra," she pointed a finger at me, her eyes still alight with desire. Fianna let out a girlish titter. "Then, all you had to do was tell me! I could have saved you a buttload of crowns and shown you all the tricks. Girls aren't all that different from boys after all. Oh, I've got this trick with a cherry stem if you gave me five seconds and a little time alone. It will blow your mind!"

"Oh, that is quite enough!" Felecia finally said, glad for a target to take out her hidden frustration on. How much more drama could the goddess throw at us? "Who in the hell do you think you are to fill his head with those kinds of images?"

"Why do I get the feeling we just got another crazy in our midst?" Kyana tapped on Erik's shoulder, whispering to him aloud. Accidentally on purpose, of course. "Hey, do you want to weigh in on this?" This just got a non-committal sigh from him, not answering as he stared blankly out the window. Clearly, he really enjoyed the scenery. Kyana elbowed him more roughly, offended she was being so purposefully ignored. That's what a taste of your own medicine looks like, I suppose. "Come on! Get involved with the group for once!" The elder Lamperouge sibling turned away, his hands over his ears, clearly not wanting to be involved with anything now.

"This is Fianna Redblaze," Erik sighed very loudly again, clearly having no choice but to be the source of exposition. I know what that's like, indeed. "She's the head of the Scattered Feathers, they're a troupe of traveling minstrels who frequently stopped at the Datura more than a couple of times over the past year." He looked over to Dandelion, his face in a notebook with quill in hand, clearly working on a new song. It was then he shifted to the perverse redhead, looking so clearly amused. "Clearly you have some major connections to get someone like him involved, Miss Redblaze. On the other hand, you're birds of a feather given how both of you are known to hit on every woman you meet. Seriously, I'm not surprised you guys bought out the place for the night and had a giant orgy. Your own idea of heaven." And with that, Erik went back to looking out the window, his lips twisting into a scowl of disgust.

"Now that does sound like fun!" Fianna clapped her hands together repeatedly in excitement at the very concept. She'd get her wish with me eventually, as she so loves bragging about. "I'm sure there's a place in Novigrad we can do that, right Master Dandelion?"

"I know a couple of places that could suit our purposes quite nicely." Dandelion drawled, his quill effortlessly scratching across the parchment with fluid grace. Damn, he even made just the sound of writing art itself! "There's no better way to spend the evening than in the company of the ladies. That's one of the reasons we get along so well, dear Fianna."

"Finally, someone who understands me," Fianna replied jovially, her jolly smile fading a little. Becoming possessed with the spirit of business, for once. It was thankfully a little bit of a reprieve for us all. "But getting back to more serious matters. We also moonlight as adventurers on the side. Noa and I were hired to bring your party back to Novigrad by Lady Merigold. It's why we showed up at the bridge during your little brawl earlier. Noa insisted we come because she felt that I alone wasn't up to the task of bringing you there." She folded her arms, rolling her eyes. "The nerve of her, not trusting me to do the job!"

"It's the truth and we both know it!" Noa called back, scowling at her partner in crime, folding her arms underneath her chest. Just like Fianna, she was very blessed in that department. I'm sure she would have shived me in the neck if she knew I had thought this at the time.

Fianna's predatory smile returned. On the one hand, it's absolutely terrifying when she gets like that but on the other hand, it's still really hot! "I suppose she's not wrong either. I was entertaining the idea of taking you away from here and eloping." I could smell the perfume she was wearing as she clutched onto my arm, not bothered at the way Felecia's face was quickly turning a shade of red comparable to her hair. "What do you say, Ezra? A romantic weekend in Toussaint, sampling the local wine?"

"Over my dead body!" Felecia exclaimed, stomping up to Fianna and looking the bard right in her face. "Like hell are you taking Ezra to Toussaint or anywhere! You barely know Ezra so why're you in love with him suddenly?!" The smile never left Fianna's face as her hand came up to stroke Felecia's cheek, eliciting a startled squeak from the half-elf and sending her falling back on her butt. Now blushing from sheer embarrassment.

"Truth is, he's the first man who's ever struck my fancy. Which let me tell you doesn't happen very often. I'm more into my own kind, and to be honest, you are quite the cutie, Felecia, was it? It's not often I come across a half-elf." She gently tweaked her ears, grinning the whole time. While Felecia looked on in sheer terror, a deer in the magelight as she let out another adorable animal-like squeak. I couldn't help enjoying the sound despite how weird Fianna was being to my lady. "Oh, those ears are adorable! Tell you what, hot stuff! I'll cut you a little deal. We can share Ezra. You can have him during the week, and I can get my time on the weekends. I'll even ensure your needs are met as well." Cue Felecia squealed with the timbre of a dying rabbit as Fianna squeezed her butt hard.

I was frozen in place, and I'm sure my face was as red as Felecia's at that moment. She was crying as Fianna suddenly let go, looking apologetic. "Oh my, where are my manners? I took a slice of the cake, and you hadn't even gotten a taste. It's all yours if you want it." Fianna kept squeezing Felecia's rear, massaging her buttocks very deliberately in front of my eyes, the latter whining for her to stop. I couldn't help thinking this was very hot while my very being froze in pure shock. Stuff like this wasn't merely only in the realm of trashy copper store novels after all. Not that I would have known, I was a pure unsullied goddess-fearing country boy, I swear on Marika's generous holy chest of blessings. "Just give it a nice firm squeeze, Ezra! It's free real estate! You are two are already a thing, amirite? So, it's basically your goddess-given right!"

It was hard not to feel bad for Felecia at that moment, blushing as she was constantly groped. Not to mention the cute little squeaks she was making as Fianna kept at it. You'd think after working at a dive like the Datura would have made me used to such things. Many of the girls, Indigo included, had offered to take me for the night. But I always gently refused them because I had my heart set on someone else. Looking back now I wasn't sure if I mean Rose…or Felecia herself.

Still, I couldn't afford to be indecisive. So, I mustered my courage, gently taking hold of Fianna's wrist and removing it from Felecia's goddess-rendered rear end. "Fianna, please cut it out," I said firmly, looking her dead in the eye. I was really trying to be assertive as possible without sounding like an asshole. "I'm really thankful your crew helped us out of a tight jam, but I'll make it clear there are limitations. I won't tolerate this kind of thing more than once. Felecia is my girl, so I won't suffer anybody manhandling her in such an indecent way." Fianna looked surprised for a long moment, her mouth agape. And I could see the hurt in her eyes, and on a subconscious level, I knew there was jealousy afoot.

The surprise was replaced by her usual merriment. "Fair enough!" Sheer surprise replaced with a grin of pride, and sureness. In me for standing up to her, I guess. I found Felecia staring at me with appreciation. It didn't stop her from cursing under her breath, swearing revenge upon the other pervy bard as she plopped down on the floor. Very deliberately at my feet for protection. "I'll admit I'm impressed with your boldness. It looks like your confidence has improved greatly since our last little chat. I wonder if it has to do with the fact, you have a pretty lady to look after or if it's that Crest of yours?" Words died on my dry lips; I really didn't know what to say at that moment. Being reminded of the damned curse residing in my hand wasn't helping matters any. The wagon came to a halt after that.

"Pit stop!" Noa called, coming back into the wagon itself. "Thank you for correcting my boss." The kunoichi gifted me a nod of respect. She can get so out of hand if there isn't someone there to keep her under control." She clamped her fingers on Fianna's nose before Ezra could answer. Fianna let out a muffled cry of terror. "And you!" Noa ground out quite severely, increasing the pressure as Fianna let out a stifled yelp of pain-filled fright. "You can't stop making trouble for five minutes, can you?! I swear on the big, shiny god tree in the sky, you are incorrigible." Noa snapped, bringing up an accusing finger to her boss' terrified face. "I left you alone for two weeks and look at what happened. Suddenly you think you have the rule of the roost!" And thus, I had my proper introduction to the one person who has zero tolerance for Fianna's shenanigans.

"So where in the hell are we going exactly?" Rose looked on, trying to ignore the stupidity. Never thought it would be Rose of all people to ask that pointed question. At least she knew how to get down to business when it mattered. "Now that we're not welcome in Vizima we're going to have to find somewhere else to hang our hats." She closed one eye, running a hand through her snow-white hair. "I'm not smart enough to figure out where that is," Her tone was thick with sarcasm, very much like Rose indeed. Always the smartass. "So, you guys will have to do it since I'm just a dumb hooker." Rose examined me, not sure whether to regard me as her savior, or ruination. To be fair, I was always a bit of column A and B since I was reportedly the chosen one, or whatever. "Correction, ex-hooker." She gestured at me dismissively, an unsure frown on her face. "Unless you are suddenly my pimp now. Not that I'm worried since your pimp game is weak."

I tried my best to ignore that jab at my supposed lack of "game". The thing is I could already see the others clenching up, not amused at all. Luckily Dandelion was there to smooth things over.

"That's actually a very legitimate question." He started, looking up from his leather notebook. It snapped shut as he lifted his stately quill up to signal that he had the floor now. Erik rather looked like he wanted to put him on the floor if the glare he gave him was any indication. Dandelion was completely oblivious to the fact as he lectured us, though. Giving Rose any acknowledgment was a grave crime worthy of being a cardinal sin. Tantamount to burning the Erdtree if you asked him.

"Let's face it," he hummed lightly as he continued, spinning his quill quite skillfully between his fingers. Very much a power move. "Everything that happened back there gave you a lot of unwanted attention. Lady Triss and Lady Keira can smooth over everything with the Temerian authorities with little issue. However, all of the recent activity could attract the many eyes and tendrils of the Golden Order's Temple, its seemingly endless fanatical paramilitary branches, and the High King of the Imperium on top of it. The Temple's own very godly pontiff made flesh, and our supposed god-king." Boy, Dandelion was laying on the blasphemy thick today. He surely would have been burned at the stake in a more devout, if lesser, company. "So, it's important we find a place to lay low for a while before proceeding onto Novigrad."

"What about Mountain Glenn?" Felecia offered conversationally, a thoughtful look on her lovely countenance. She even looked super cute as she hugged her knees, leaning her head very deliberately against my leg affectionately. Rose venomously glared at Felecia, quite aware of the implication I was hers. Felecia grinned impishly, knowing there was not a damn thing Rose could do about it. Power moves all around today, it seemed. "It's one of the smaller Adrestrian holds on the border between here and the Leicester Alliance. The Alliance wasn't able to take it from Adrestria during their revolution a few decades back. It's far enough north that it's in the mountains, not to mention out of the way enough to be beneath the notice of organizations like the Order. Mountain Glenn's only claim to fame is the fact that our family is from there. Dad is a high-ranking officer, and Mom is a famous sage. Any elves who come to visit her won't say anything to humans. That's how well respected she is in our community."

"So we're going to see your hometown then, Felecia? That actually sounds like it could be fun." Kyana was enthused, one leg bouncing up and down in excitement, by the chance to see the place the Lamperouges called home. On some levels, I was kind of curious myself. It sounded like a nice place to settle down given how Felecia and Erik described it.

"The town is surrounded by lots of tall trees." Felecia nodded in affirmation, smiling fondly at her cousin's enthusiasm to see her hometown. Adoptive, or not, they were basically sisters. "So, it will feel just like home for you, Kyana. In fact, our town's main source of income is harvesting the oldest trees for lumber and shipping it across the entire Imperium. Of course, we're also planting new ones. We try to respect the balance of nature and give back. Unlike some other places out there." Felecia looked at her brother, reaching over to tap him affectionately on the leg. "Erik actually worked as a lumberjack before he left home, right Bro?"

"Yeah, Sis, it was kind of nice being out in nature." Erik chuckled despite his nominally miserable self; his jaded heart stone heart almost seemingly warmed at the nostalgia flowing through him. "It was like a hunt, finding the right trees to cut down. We only went after the biggest and oldest ones. Sometimes we had to cut down trees because they were sick, but aside from that it was just marching through the woods, marking the targets for the day. I actually got pretty good at telling what trees were ready to be culled."

"Oh great," our prostitute with a heart of coal spat, "all of you came from the woods!" I adore Rose even to this very day, but sometimes I wish she had just kept her damn mouth shut at times. So many problems could be avoided if you just watched your words. Of course, I hardly have any ground to stand on. "So we're all going straight to hillbilly country, is that it? If I start hearing dueling banjos in the background I'm taking off and leaving you guys for the rednecks." She glared at Felecia and Kyana explicitly, a sneer of contempt on her glossy lips. "I'm betting you two girls will squeal like piggies at the first chance you'll get."

Felecia stuck her nose in the air, drawing on her elven heritage to put on that smug, superior air so many of them have made into fine art. "I'm sorry Mountain Glenn isn't the garden spot of the Western Imperium. We'll be sure to drop you off somewhere more to your liking. Like the nearest pig pen! You're just as much of a redneck as the three of us so live with it, sweetheart!"

"Not to mention you probably squeal just as good as we do!" Kyana was so smug, but she was right. Rose could squeal real good. I could personally attest to that.

"What the fuck do you mean by the Western Imperium anyway?" Rose snapped, considerably red-faced with embarrassment. She decided to change the subject since she was clearly on the losing end. Who has the lack of game now? "There's more than one of them? I thought Midgard was just one big gathering of shit. You're telling me there's more piles of it just laying around stinking up the place?" I couldn't understand why Rose would be so willingly ignorant of the world around her. She knew perfectly well how to read…my mother was the one who taught her to do so. Picking up a book wouldn't have killed her. Dandelion chose that moment to swoop in, ever the paragon of education and knowledge.

"Allow me to clear things up for the young folks. After all, I am an accomplished, wandering scholar who dabbles in a bit of everything. While I majored in literature, I also minored in the social sciences. I lectured at the University of Oxenfurt and tutored many brilliant minds from noble families. All of you should savor the chance to bask in my knowledge, for free no less." Dandelion looked so cool in that moment. He wasn't wrong, how often would you get a free lesson from someone like him?

Rose was less than impressed. She had been around the brothel long enough to know what Dandelion could be like when his ego was stroked, and she wasn't shy about sharing her opinion. "Oh great. I'm covered in blood, and dirt, and I'm dead-ass tired. Forgive me if I'm not interested in your 'too long, didn't listen' chats."

"Oohh, oohh! I want to learn more about the Empire." Kyana chimed, vigorously raising her hand as if she were in the middle class right now. There was no fighting it, everywhere was either a stage, or a classroom to Dandelion. "I was educated by the twins back home, but I could use a refresher course since I'm a dumb hillbilly who's lived in the woods my whole life and doesn't know any better." Kyana beamed oh so haughtily as Rose glared at her.

"Tch…fine, go ahead!" Rose grunted, turning away from the conversation entirely. Listen to this hipster doofus bard ramble on as much as you want. Word of warning, he won't stop fucking talking once he starts. I remember a couple of months back he gave this massive, long-winded lecture about Midgardian economics while that two-timing cunt Indigo was blowing him right in front of everyone. Madame Horseface humored him because he was a big spender every time he wandered in with that white-haired friend of his. Jerald of Whatever." My ears perked up when she mentioned 'white hair.' Did that mean she had actually met…him?

Rose snorted, almost sounding like a noise of amusement rather than derision. "Even he admitted Dandelion here talked too much. But when he got liquored up, he would start talking about his contracts," unexpectedly, Rose broke out in a childish grin. "That was the type of shit I actually liked! Fighting monsters, taking out bandits. Seemed like a fun time."

"It was the kind of life you always wanted for yourself back in Rulid," I added abruptly, catching her off guard.

"W-what does it matter to you? It was just a stupid dream after all." She stuttered over her words, flushing the same hue of pink as her eyes.

"It matters to me because I care," I said matter of factly, almost bluntly. Rose just looked away, clearly not able to admit her feelings about it.

"You can talk about whatever the fuck you want." She sputtered, turning her back to us as she curled up in the fetal position. A habit of hers she never liked me pointing out. It was actually one of the few cute gestures she was unconsciously capable of doing. "I'm going to get some sleep and just pretend your worthless voices are nothing but noise in the back of my head."

Dandelion cleared his throat, turning his gaze away from our Lady Rose of the Trash Heap. "Now that is over. Let's get on with our lesson. On paper, the Midgardian Imperium would be considered a single political entity. The reality is much more nuanced than that. It's a confederation of multiple states under the auspices of the House of the Erdtree. At the highest level, there are three major states, Eastern Imperium, Middle Imperium, and Western Imperium. Those in turn are broken down into even smaller kingdoms with a single unifying supreme leader above them. The Eastern Imperium has the High King, the Middle Imperium has an Emperor, and The Eastern Imperium has no one person in charge, so it's left up to a council of petty lords to decide the day-to-day affairs."

"But certainly, there must be some kind of single leader who makes the final decision. How else would anything get done otherwise?" Kyana asked curiously, glancing at Rose sidelong as she supposedly slept. I could tell from the not-so-innocent smile he wore that she was glad she finally won a victory over the white-haired bane of her existence. Felecia also seemed interested in the subject, if only because she knew it would annoy Rose, but she knew the value of knowledge. Even Erik's interest had been piqued, given he had half pulled himself from gazing out the window to listen to Dandelion's lecture.

Dandelion flashed a debonair smile. "Very astute, my forest nymph." Kyana rolled her eyes in reaction, letting out a bemused chortle. Something that elongated the bard's smile into a full-blown toothy grin. Not that I blamed him since it was a cute noise. "Amongst the lords, a petty king of the realm is elected to direct the rest of the council. At least that's what is supposed to happen. However, it's mostly just for show. It's a glorified popularity contest, to be honest. It's like winning a lifetime achievement award. Everyone eventually gets their spot in the rotation. I've cast my vote as a member of the electoral college many times, usually when I was drunk. And I even put my name on the ballot once, and almost won!"

"The only thing you're king of is women of low standards. All the girls at the Datura would back me up on that one, regardless of how they felt about me personally." Rose muttered aloud, supposedly deep in sleep. For once she was right! I never thought Dandelion was capable of giving such a harsh squint. He always seemed so laid back. I guess even he had his limits. But he was a true professional and ignored the jibes. He had taken worse insults from far more twisted individuals.

Undeterred, the master bard continued expounding his knowledge. "Truthfully the Imperium is divided up many different ways. The royal children divide up their respective regions by the main kind of terrain their realm comprises. It makes them feel important. Temeria for example is part of the Land of Forests, given the numerous trees that dot the landscape. Mountain Glenn is well, in the Land of Mountains." Dandelion let out a defeated sigh, throwing up his hands helplessly. "It's a very tangled system, to be honest."

"And you've no doubt delved quite deep to find every single one of those knots to make yourself sound important. Do you mind? Some of us are trying to get our beauty sleep." Rose snorted very obnoxiously, before rolling on her side so her back was once more to everyone else. The best animal I could use to describe her was a cat, snarky, fickle, and had a very mean set of sharp claws that shred anything she wanted to. Rose was gorgeous but just mean. Still, I would meet another pretty snow-white kitty cat soon enough, and she was a lot nicer.

"Please ignore her, Master Dandelion." Noa, our charming resident gravity mage, raised a placating hand after having remained quiet all this time, "obviously, she's content to remain face down in the dirt and has no respect for others. There is no shame in gaining knowledge. It will be a long ride to Mountain Glenn and any distraction would be welcome to fight off the boredom. Unless one of you has an incantation that can create a wind tunnel to make this old wagon go a whole lot faster." Noa gave a pointed stare in my direction. It wasn't as hostile as it had been before. I guess my putting Fianna in her place won me some brownie points.

"You wouldn't by chance know any new high-level wind magic, would you Ezra?" Kyana inquired, gifting me a look of endearing, wide-eyed curiosity.

"Yeah, I wonder too. You've definitely changed in some way, but I just can't put my finger on it." Felecia's hand gripped my right a little tighter than before, looking up at me quite concernedly. "I mean you just seem a lot stronger than when we were fighting the Wolf Queen and that entire horde of wrongness." I didn't miss how she shivered, given her close encounter with the Dremora who had awakened my crest. So, I made it a point to pull her close to me, stroking her soft dandelion-colored hair.

"Maybe it's just because he's gotten more handsome and dashing. I certainly thought as much when he thrashed Rodger and his goons earlier. He just made it look so easy in tossing Hammer and Anvil around like nothing." Fianna batted her eyes at yours truly, a seductive smile fit with bedroom eyes plastered on her face. "I thought it was really hot." Felecia's grip on me tightened on me even more as she glared at Fianna, scowling at our would-be savior. If she wasn't being horny, then she was just going around to get a rise out of people. Noa sighed loudly, ignoring her friend's antics. Suddenly, she got out of her seat, hopped back into the driver's seat, and we were now underway again. Our wagon once more bounced, and bumped on the gravely dirt road. I didn't exactly blame Noa for wanting to get away from all the catty bickering among the girls over me. I almost wished I wasn't the center of attention.

But who am I kidding? I secretly enjoyed every minute of it despite the awkwardness. It was a fine price to pay for hitting my popular streak.

"Okay, what has gotten into you girl? You are acting weirder than normal and that's saying something given how long I've known you." Noa glanced over her shoulder, shouting loudly from the driver's seat, sounding genuinely perplexed. "I mean, did you hit your head or something? You've never once shown any interest in men at all! And of all people you chose him?" She indicated to me, not impressed at all by her choice. "I mean, you could have chosen someone less attached, if the way the girl in blue hanging off him is any indication. Not to mention someone who had a little more meat on his bones. Seriously, could he be any more scrawny?"

Wow, I'm not sure how to feel about that. Fianna just scoffed, putting her nose in the air like she was the queen of Temeria herself. "And what exactly do you know about men, Noa? As I recall you've never had a steady boyfriend in your entire life! For all you know, Ezra could have a great set of abs, a six or even an eight-pack. You can't say if you don't look!" Wasn't often Fianna talked back to Noa like that. But it was clear the two of them looked at each other like sisters and weren't afraid to speak each other's minds.

"I could care less about who you've dated." Kyana was surprisingly defensive, letting out an annoyed moan. But I suppose she was just trying to cover up her own feelings for me. "Erik," she poked at our resident elf warrior's shoulder, "I'm sorry to peel you away from your fascination with the dirt on the road, but can we please get another man's opinion on this?"

"That kind of stuff doesn't matter to me at all." He bluntly replied, turning to face our motley little crew with a deep frown. "I'm more caring of the fact that Fianna and her people are professionals who saved our asses from the whole mess with Rodger. Which I doubt we've properly thanked you for, so let me say you have my gratitude for that. I'm not sure how we would have dealt with the damage we did to the bridge and explaining where the Daedroth came from." He smirked, looking right at me. Almost seemingly looking amused through his projected aloofness. "I was wondering what happened to you back there, Ezra. You were kind of whacked out of your gourd. Not that it wasn't kind of funny."

Groaning, my leg sank into Felecia a little. I silently begged my girlfriend for a little support. Erik, and the girls had told me what I had said after I finally came down from my little power high, I mean seriously. 'Throughout the heavens and earth. I alone am the honored one!' I mean, you'd think I had been tripping on something heavy to come up with that kind of drivel! "What can I say? I'm a natural poet?" It was the best glib remark I could come up with. "I'm still as stumped as you are, Erik. I really have no idea what I was doing when I came up with it."

But then the unexpected happened: Erik actually laughed! Not contemptuously. Not mockingly. Rather quite genuinely. "Maybe it's all that king business you're going on about. Personally, I think you should stick to the basics first before setting your ambitions really high. You have to prove worthy of my little sis first." Cue a gorgeous blush from Felecia as she patted his sister affectionately on the head. To be honest, seeing that trolling grin on his face was a welcome sight, given how dour he had been since we met up in Vizima. "I did have the chance to talk to Dad after the whole mess with the Wolf Queen, said he owed you for saving Felecia's life. You might not have to ask for her hand after that save."

"I'll look after her, you can count on that." I pulled her closer to me, a quiet reassurance that no harm would befall her like that again. Erik just nodded strongly, satisfied that I spoke the truth.

"It looks like Ezra's not the only one who's changed." Kyana piped up, leaning against her cousin on the floor. He put his arm around her, readily accepting her comfort. "You're different too, Erik. More like yourself. You seem free like you're not dragging some horrible weight around."

"You're not wrong, Wood Nymph. I had to deal with Rodger and his crew since Thanedd. Only because I couldn't turn to anyone else." Erik patted her on the head, luxuriating in her warm smile. "When the only people you have to rely on are three pieces of human trash like Rodger, Hammer, and Anvil, it does take a major toll on you. I was just there to do all the grunt work while they sat around and got wasted." His expression darkened slightly. "To be honest, the world's better off without Rodger to leech off it."

"No arguments here." Felecia's sentiment was the same as her brother's. No one would miss the broken hulk of a sky pirate. She side-eyed her brother. "Since you brought it up, you dodged the question last time, Erik. What happened on Thanedd and how did you end up falling in with Rodger's crew?" A couple of minutes passed, and Erik said nothing. But unlike the first time it was mentioned, he didn't seem to have the same hostility. Instead, it was just a deep resignation and a quiet sadness.

"I didn't say anything at the time was because I didn't see any way out of my situation, and I was scared of reprisal from that sick fuck. I'll tell you guys, but not here. When we get back to Mountain Glenn, I'll come clean about everything. For right now, I just want to enjoy these Rodger-free moments while I can. Does that placate you, sis?" Felecia said nothing, simply nodding and sitting on the other side of her brother. It made for a pretty cute image of Erik, Felecia, and Kyana all cuddled up together.

"Hard to believe it's only been a few hours since that all went down. I'm glad Hammer and Anvil ran off like the little bitches they are. I was getting so sick of seeing Hammer undress me with his eyes." Kyana shuddered all over, looking like she wanted the brain bleach right now. I suppose there was a spell for that. I didn't know it right then, unfortunately. "I could only shudder at having to share a party with those two! Remember the swamp? Those morons and their dumbass prayers to their precious god. If you ask me, Yautja was probably the god of losers to end up with worshippers like that." A chorus of laughs erupted through the wagon. It was a nice feeling. I could see the glint in Fianna's eye, and I knew what was coming next.

"Mm, I like you, honey. Are you single? I'm sure we could have a couple of jokes over drink." Kyana sank back as Fianna leaned in ever closer. "I could show you how dexterous I am with my fingers if you give me the chance, and how flexible the rest of my body is after that!" Kyana let out a shrill squeak, blushing ever more as she clung to Erik.

"Don't even think about it unless you want to lose a hand!" Kyana protested, growling out her words as if they were weapons. "Let's see you play the lute after that!"

"Fianna, mind your manners or you're pulling the wagon to Mountain Glenn." Noa didn't even look back, her voice full of parental authority. The redhead squeaked, her face turning white as she shrank down in her seat.

It was Dandelion's turn to laugh now. "Ah to be young again. Speaking of which, I thought young Lady Kyana was your significant other, Ezra. Unless there's some kind of share and share alike deal going on here that I haven't heard of? How scandalous!" I could see why Dandelion and Fianna got along so well. Not only were both of them shameless womanizers but they were also very keen to pick up on any idle gossip. Forget being known as the Thronebreaker, I was going to be remembered as the relentless Casanova!

Luckily Rose was there to keep things grounded. Apparently, she had gotten tired of pretending to sleep. She let out a mocking laugh as she sat up, regarding the bard contemptuously with both her toxic pink-hued gaze, and venomous vernacular. "You really think there's something going on there, Dandelion? That's fucking rich. If Ezra actually was actually going to plow town on the hot pants elf and our little woodland darling, he wouldn't have felt the need to buy me from Horseface." Kyana just sneered at Rose, she didn't need any reminding.

"That's not why I bought you, Rose." I snapped, finally having had my fill of her harsh tongue. I only wished she'd stopped being such a bitch toward me and my friends. She was just so… Just so fucking ungrateful! I was mad, and looking to lash back at her. That's all there was to it. "I'm sure I don't need to reiterate that we are childhood friends, Rose? Rulid? Alice? Eugeo? You can't tell me any of those names don't ring a bell to you. I'm a walking guilt complex, Rose. Get it through your skull."

Rose was even more unimpressed than before. Man, you want to talk about a heavily ingrained cynicism with her. "Psh! Oh yeah, we're childhood friends separated by tragic circumstances. You think by reuniting us everything will be hunky fucking dory again, right? You don't even fucking know if Rulid is even on the map anymore after your old man dropped his big ass dragon on the place. For all we know, Eugeo is rotting away in some shallow fucking hole in the ground. And Alice?" She sniffed, making a dismissive gesture. Entirely coldly contemptuous of our friends. Well, at least she finally admitted our tragic past was true to everyone else. "You really must be naive to think she could still be alive. Those tin-can knights executed her for violating their retarded border laws. We both know it."

Anyone else might have let those barbs get under their skin. But I knew her well enough. "So, you finally admit to remembering them at all…" I said aloud, feeling both angered, and saddened by her hurtful words. How it tore at me from the inside. I simply wanted to hurt Rose in return. To this day, I regret being so immature, but I hadn't even considered it. I was simply being young and dumb, lashing out at her like this. "And do you actually know any of that to be true? Really? How can you know about what's been going on throughout the Imperium if you've been in some piss-laden shack in the worst part of Vizima on your back all the time? So just shut up and color, Rose. Live with it!"

That did the trick, Rose had no retort for that. So Rose just gave a dismissive 'hmph!', before rolling back on her side, going back to her so-called beauty sleep. I felt my anger roil deep within me. Again, she made me think of the cat analogy. Perhaps I needed to get her a ball of yarn and some catnip to warm her up some. I decided it better to not mouth off further with that remark. Everyone seemed to have their fill of discussion and settled down to get some sleep. It would be another three days to Mountain Glenn, and we would need our energy.

(Three Days Later, Path leading to Mountain Glenn)

I'll admit, the valley Mountain Glenn was located in was worthy of a landscape portrait. The massive redwood trees rose into the sky, the morning sun filtering through the thick foliage canopy. Felecia glowed at seeing home again, clearly, she hadn't seen it in quite some time, given all the tombs she had raided in the name of work and research. Erik's response was far more muted, but I could tell on some levels he was glad to see it as well. Kyana looked equally overjoyed, being reminded of Bright River. I wondered if she thought of Ioran and the Twins. It seemed so long ago since we made out escape from the Order's attack when in truth it was just a month and a half ago.

Subconsciously, I found my hand going to Kyana's shoulder and looked into her eyes. It told me all that I needed to. She had been worried about them but just hid it very well. Rose was carrying herself with the usual smug, passive-aggressive demeanor we'd come to expect. I could almost see the disparaging words on the tip of her tongue, but she looked at me for just a split second. I'm not sure what it was about me, but she seemed to decide against it, instead only just giving a dismissive flip of her hair before sauntering back into the wagon. It seemed kind of hot to me despite how angry she made me. I did say my relationship with her was anything but easy right?

With a crack of the reins, we made our way into the town. The first impression I had of Mountain Glenn was its very rustic and peaceful feel. The mountain peaks rushed to meet the crystal blue sky overhead making it the very picture of nature's beauty on full display. That being said, the town was anything but sleepy. Lumberjacks wandered the roads as they headed out into the brush to reach their worksites for the day. I caught sight of a massive lumber mill where all the trees were processed. The solid-looking log cabins surrounded the central road, most likely constructed from the trees in the valley itself.

In the middle of it all was a fenced-off piece of land, marked by a wall made of a combination of logs and rock hewed from the mountains, sitting in the middle of the patch of pristine green land, built on a foundation of the same stones as the fence, had to be the largest log cabin by far. It had to be at least three floors total, and just screamed out that a noble lived there. "That's the manor house, the lord of this region lives there with his family." Erik pointed out. "He's a big investor in the lumber mill, and ensures the town keeps running."

"Your father's a real big shot in the Imperial Army, right? Does he have a manor of his own?" Fianna teased, smirking at Felecia.

Felecia shook her head, brushing away the bard's teasing. "I'm afraid not. While our dad is a very high-ranking officer, our family are still considered commoners. That being said, the lord did give us a pretty nice home. Speaking of which, there it is! Noa stop here!" The wagon came to a halt in front of a two-story log cabin that managed to stand out from the rest. "Dad is still at the front lines with Viscount Arseid and the others, but Mom should be home." It was a solid minute with the Lamperouge siblings standing in front of the place they called home. For Felecia, the joy flashing on her face was evident.

Erik on the other hand seemed far more hesitant. Whatever circumstances had led him to leave home and his actions on Thanedd still haunted him. Kyana finally had enough and gently nudged him from behind. "Well? What are you waiting for, you big oaf? Go up there and let Aunt Quara know you've come home!" The pointed stare and shooing motion with her hand was enough to finally get him moving up the front walk onto the porch. He held his hand out and knocked twice. The door swung open, and a stunningly beautiful elf emerged.

She walked with the ethereal beauty typical of most elves, she almost glided onto the porch. Quara Lamperouge was far taller than her daughter by a good six inches. Her long strawberry-blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, covered by a net of delicate golden chains imbued with sapphires. I could feel the latent magical energy emanating from them. She wore a dress in the same deep rich blue Felecia preferred, acting with twisting vine patterns embroidered with white, silver, and gold thread. Her jewelry was of the same fine quality my mother wore, all made of the same brilliant yellow gold, adorned with the highest quality emeralds and sapphires. If anyone wondered where Felecia got her killer good looks from, here's your answer! Her mom was a full-blooded Elvhen hottie!

Erik slouched a little under his mother's questioning gaze, clearly uncertain of what to say to her. "Hey, Mom…I'm home." He finally said, hesitantly. Not sure what to expect.

She just smiled brightly and embraced him tightly as a mother should. "Well now! I was wondering where you got to, young man." Quara had a very dreamy-sounding voice like she was half asleep, she certainly looked the part with her half-lidded eyes. "Did you remember to get the milk like I asked for? Otherwise, I'll never be able to make those mashed potatoes you and your sister like." Erik's entire posture slackened, clearly, this was the reception he wasn't expecting. He had been gone for over a year and a half, and she was acting like he got lost on his way home from the store of all things! Still, he looked relieved to hear it. After hanging around Rodger for so long, it was a very welcoming balm for him.

Felecia gently nudged her brother aside, and Quara's dreamy smile grew ever wider. "Ah, my sweet little Felecia! Welcome home my precious treasure!" It was actually a very sweet moment, would have been even nicer if Rose wasn't looking about to gag. And then she noticed Kyana and myself, regarding us with gleaming eyes of fond surprise. "Oh, my goddess!" Quara gasped. "The two of you as well? This day just gets more intriguing!" Quara came down the steps and both of us were swept up in the Lamperouge matriarch's embrace. "How are doing this fine day?" It took all of my willpower to not cry at that moment, if just for a couple of seconds. Because it made me think of my own mom. How much I missed her loving touch, smell her perfume, simple but elegant like her.

"It's good to see you again, Aunt Quara!" Kyana chirped merrily. "This is a beautiful place you have here. I feel so at ease with all the trees. It's just like being back in Bright River." It was then I caught sight of a pang of regret in Quara's eyes. Something told me she knew about the Order attack, and gave her niece a light pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry if we just showed up at your front door like this." I scratched my head while looking at Rose, and Dandelion, and Noa, and Fianna, and the rest of the Scattered Feathers. "We had a pretty wild adventure in Vizima, and we had to leave town in a big hurry. We'll need a place to crash for a few days. I hope that's not too much of an issue for you." I spoke. Quara blinked at the assortment of her people on her front lawn for a minute.

"Ah, so it appears so." Was all she said with a careless shrug, before going back to Kyana and I, grasping us like we were the most precious jewels in all of Midgard. "My my, how much you two have grown in the last couple of years." We were both Floored by the lack of reaction. It was like she wasn't even phased. She put a finger on her chin, and smirked a little bit. "I just think it's fascinating how quickly human children mature. Even after all this time, I'm still amazed at how quickly you've grown. Erik and Felecia are still mere infants by Elvhen standards. But of course, Mark asked me to treat them more as human buds than elvish sprouts." She just shrugged and brought her hands up in helpless surrender. "What can I say? Old habits are hard to break!" Let me tell you, folks, she's probably one of the few people who could make the simple act of shrugging look graceful. I can't deny such a little gesture could be so ethereal.

The Lamperouge siblings just shook their heads, but they were both smiling the entire time. After the sheer horror of Potema's attempted demonic invasion, plus, the madness that overwhelmed Rodger, their mother's quirkiness was just that comforting to them. In some ways it put Kyana and I at ease too. We may not have been related by blood, but we were still family in Quara's eyes, and it was clear that she was worried about us. Which for her meant increasing the mood whiplash.

"Tell me, Ezra, have you noticed how womanly Felecia has become?" Despite her dreamy look, it was now apparent Quara was in full-blown troll mode with how she was teasing her daughter. "I mean, she's such a mature little sprout now, even if she is still a little on the shorter side!" I want to take a moment and point out that Quara is a Wood Elf, they are naturally short. Females especially don't grow that tall unless they use magic to enhance it. The only reason the mother is taller than the daughter is because she wears three-inch heels, you just can't see it because of her long skirt. Maybe she used Elvhen transformation magic to gain an inch, or two. But who knew besides the goddess?

"Okay, it's clear where you two get your nuttiness from. The apples landed right next to the tree and hit every branch on the way down!" Damn it, Rose! Can you just keep your mouth shut for five seconds! "I mean, you really want to hoe your daughter out to this dummy?" She jerked a thumb at me, eying me quite harshly. "I mean, seriously she could do so much better!" Heh, of course despite how snarky and cynical Rose had become. Quara had several more hundred years of life on her. Her smile didn't change, but her eyes opened all the way, and I knew my thorny would-be love interest was about to get it back in full.

"Ah, jealous my dear? I can see why you would. I mean Ezra is such a dashing young man. He's got a very sharp mind, skilled with his blades, not to mention his pyromancy is second to none. He would be a major catch for any young woman. So, wanting to cut out the competition is only sensible." Ouch, sounds like someone is going to a couple of potions to recover from that burn! Rose's entire face turned bright red, whether it was from fury or embarrassment, I'll probably never know. She just turned on her heel and stormed back to the wagon.

"Fuck that! I don't want anything to do with that dumbass! I'm out of here!" She screeched before slamming the door to our dream carriage shut. Well, that's one less table guest I suppose.

"See my point?" Quara lightly poked me in the shoulder. "You know it's a real pity I'm married, and my baby girl is so focused on you. I've had quite a few paramours your age throughout the centuries." She let out a girlish titter that didn't seem right coming from someone usually so poised. "Oh, I can do things with magic that most mortals in the Middle Imperium can only dream of. I mean, just ask my husband!" Yeah, I got pretty hot in the cheeks when she said that.

"Mama!" Felecia exclaimed, her cheeks turning beet red. Which admittedly was a very nice complement to the blue she had on.

"Auntie, please don't say that!" Kyana was just as scandalized. Noa was just as red-faced, wanting nothing more than to stick her head in a hollow tree. I could see Rose looking out the window, glaring as she mouthed: 'Told you she was a crazy bitch'.

"Mom, please don't say shit like that in public." Erik just sighed, his initial relief at being home already starting to wear off. "You know, as glad as I am to see her. I'm now reminded that she really has no filter when it comes to sex."

Dandelion perked up at this mention, eyes visibly widening. "Do go on, Lady Lamperouge. It would be great material for my next book."

Fianna also looked intrigued at the prospect. "Hmm, I've heard of the magical sex arts." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "The wonders of the Middle Imperium are great indeed." She motioned for the rest of the Feathers to get back into the cart as well. "But as much as I'd love to pick your brain on the subject, Lady Quara. It's been a long trip and we're all pretty tired. If it's okay with you guys, we'll head over to the inn. As much as I'd love to raid the personal wine stores of the Crimson Fox, something tells me this is purely a family matter and I'd just be in the way."

Noa just huffed. "Wow, you actually read the room for once. I suppose even you can recognize social cues when you have to." She folded her arms, looking quite composed despite the insults she was shooting. "Not everyone wants a wine-sniffing womanizer imposing on them." Fianna just stuck her tongue out at her long-time partner and older sister figure.

"Uh, does that mean Fianna or myself?" Dandelion spoke up at last, having not wanted to ruin the family moment.

He flinched at the irritated glare Noa sent his way. "Just get back in the damn wagon and come up with something good for tonight's show! I didn't need to twist Fianna's nose off this time, but I'll have no problem doing it to you! And don't expect your boy Geralt to come swooping in, last I heard he's on the far side of Redania!" A very irritated groan escaped her lips as her right eye flashed green for a fraction of a second quite threateningly. I felt so bad for her at times. "Now I have two hormonally charged pervs to ride herd on! The Greater Will must really like me!" A part of me really just wanted to give Noa some head pats right then.

Now, I will say that I have nothing but the greatest respect for Dandelion as a poet and a musician. He really does have a wide range of knowledge and is more than willing to share it with those who ask. But he really should have taken Fianna's example and known when to keep his mouth shut. He just shook his head. "Perhaps you should heed Lady Lamperouge's advice and find a good man to take care of that attitude. I know several that would fit your type." Oh…oh dear. The way she looked at him, and the way her eye started blazing angry green, suggested a world of pain was in store for him!

"I'm giving you five seconds to get your lute-stringing ass back in that wagon or else." Oh wow, Potema had nothing on Noa at that moment! Her eye was practically blazing green fire, and I was just waiting for it to consume Dandelion in the fury of a woman who had reached her breaking point. "Five…Four…Three…Two…"

Panic stricken, Fianna grabbed Dandelion by the arm and dragged him back to the cart. "Come on, move! You don't want her to hit one at all! Trust me, I know what kind of pressure that thumb and index finger hold. It is a harbinger of doom to gorgeous noses like yours and mine! So move it!" They quickly hopped in the wagon. The glow receded and Noa just gave one last dirty look to the two bards before turning to face us, sighing.

She climbed up in the driver's seat, giving us a wave. "Enjoy your little family reunion." There was nothing condescending about how she said it, clearly, she wished us well. "We'll be by in the morning, and we'll discuss our next course of action then." Noa cracked the reins and the wagon creaked off down the road.

The windows on the wagon burst open and Dandelion leaned out of the window, Fianna holding onto his expensive silk gherkin to keep him from face-planting on the cobblestone-lined path. "IF COLONEL LAMPEROUGE DOESN'T COME BACK, CALL MEEEEEE!" Dandelion cried out. Yeah, good luck with that pal. If you thought Noa was scary, try dealing with the Crimson Fox himself when enraged. With that, Quara led us inside to get a good old-fashioned home-cooked meal. Mom was always a great cook, grilled chicken slathered in lemon juice was something I always relished. What I wouldn't give to have it again.

Right as we walked in, Quara had a million things going on at once. Okay maybe not that much, but she still had dishes washed in the sink, cleaning laundry, and hanging it up to dry. Not to mention at least three brooms going at once attacking the dust and cobwebs. I wonder if my own mom had ever considered using her magic in such a way. "Not a bad use of telekinesis. I've never thought of using it in such a simple way. What's your secret?"

Quara let out a cute little titter, putting her hand to her face in a dainty manner. "My old friend, Yen Sid. He made a very good argument. What point is there to do magic if not make the mundane household chores easier?" She gave an idle wave of her hand and several cuts of meat and vegetables sailed into the room. "I'm thinking stew would be nice for our welcome dinner. Think you guys would be willing to help me out with that?" Quara's pork and beef stew was to die for. I remember having it only once before when they visited Bright River.

An hour, and a clean house later, we were all enjoying a magically rendered home-cooked meal. I hadn't eaten like this since before Bright River was attacked. I'd idly wondered what Ioran, and the twins were up to. I hoped they were also enjoying good food, and the company of their loved ones in our tribe. I tried not too hard to think about who died during the attack. I wasn't that close to anybody in Bright River besides Ioran, the Twins, Kyana, and Michael, but... I'd fought side by side with them, and sang enough tipsy songs with the residents of Bright River in the aftermath in the village square on warm nights enough times to feel a sense of camaraderie to know I'd mourn anyone who had fallen in the heat of battle. I dismissed the thoughts, knowing I'd ruin the mood with all my brooding.

"Ah Mom, it's been so long since I've tasted this." Erik slumped in his chair, patting his stomach. "Believe me, it beats combat rations and cheap gruel that certain someones call food any day of the week." I sympathized greatly with that comment. The Datura wasn't exactly known for its five-star cuisine. Seriously that ghoul of a woman cut corners on everything, Crappy security is one thing, but how hard could it have been to find a halfway decent cook in Vizima? Pardon me for getting off on a tangent. At that moment, seeing these people who were my family smiling and happy was all that mattered to me. Quara took hold of her son's hand, and I noticed how he flinched slightly. Clearly, his regrets for joining with Rodger still gripped his soul, but his mother's love was starting to erode that away some.

"I'm very happy to have my children home at last, blood and otherwise." She gave pointed gazes to both Kyana and I. "I got out the best sparkling water. There's plenty of food to go around, so don't be afraid to eat and drink your fill." She wasn't wrong. Quara had gone out of her way to give us a great welcome meal. It was clear just how much work she had put into the cooking, even while managing the other household chores with her considerable magic prowess.

A quick prayer to the gods and we dug in. Felecia was tearing through the greens, and I wondered if Erik might need a pig trough for how much stew he was downing. I hope Hammer and Anvil hadn't been too much of a bad influence on him. But I was too hungry to bring it up. "Wow, Aunt Quara, I hope my mom can forgive me for saying this, but your stew is as close to perfection as possible. I would dare say this could match her best work any day!" I sampled the juice she brought out. "This has a real heavy flavor to it, tastes good though."

"Why thank you, Ezra. You kids deserve nothing but the best." Quara said dreamily, her hand resting against her cheek, it was something she did a lot. And to be honest, with those constant half-lidded eyes, it was anything but innocent. Kyana seemed to really like the juice, given how frequently she was filling her cup up. I don't think I'd ever seen her knock back so much before.

It wasn't long before Kyana had fallen asleep at the dinner table. "Oh no, Ezra. Please, I couldn't eat another bite. But if you feed me then I wouldn't mind." She giggled sleepily as she smiled in her drunken sleeply haze. Felecia then looked to her mother, suspicious of just what it was they had been imbibing throughout the meal that left her cousin in such a dazed and droopy state.

Erik sniffed his cup suspiciously. I did as well, there was something sus going on in this cup. "Mom…this isn't sparkling water at all, is it? You actually did break out the wine, didn't you?" Quara just put her hand to her face, trying way too hard to look innocent of any wrongdoing. He sniffed at it again, a little closer this time. "And you picked a halfway decent vintage at that! Rodger always has to go for the cheapest shit at the Datura, that Redanian pisswater he calls mead. I'd rather drink actual piss than that garbage!" He laughed, enjoying the buzz of the alcohol. I shared a grim laugh; I was beginning to feel it as well. Despite my inhuman constitution, I was still a teetotaler at my young age. "Not that I have to worry about that anymore. Considering Rodger No-Limbs is now demon crocodile chow!"

Quara let out a very haughty-sounding laugh, one that was just as beautiful as everything else about Erik and Felecia's mother. "Rodger No-Limbs, a far more suitable title for him." For once that Elvhen sense of superiority was totally warranted. Then again when Rodger is the bar you have to meet, it's pretty easy to leap over it! "The only reason we tolerated him was due to the fact that Mark saved his worthless ass during the last war with Nilfgaard. He was nothing but a mooch and a parasite. It couldn't have happened to a better person and the denizens of Gehenna are welcome to his soul for the rest of eternity."

Not sure how many other people could have said that with such a cheerful face, but anyone who knew the dead pirate well enough would concur. On some levels, it felt wrong saying that, but on the other hand it was like a weight was lifted from all our shoulders. Erik especially. It was then Felecia took hold of her brother's hand. "Erik, you did promise. What made you leave home and how did you end up on Thanedd? Why were you in Vizima with Rodger and his crew?"

Erik didn't wilt at the question, he just looked at his sister, and then at his mother. The Lamperouge women had nothing but compassion in their eyes. I never appreciated Felecia's beauty at that moment, looking so much like a reflection of her mother. "No one will judge you honey. If the time ever came for you to be free of this burden. This is it." Quara moved to embrace her firstborn. Only I could see the single tear that came from Erik's eye. I saw his face clench up, there was truly no more going back in his eyes.

"It all started because of a certain local douchebag. Lyle Owens." Almost immediately Felecia hissed like an angry cat. Erik was unfazed. "Yeah, she knows exactly who that is. His father is part of the town council, which to Lyle translated that he could generally act like a huge prick to everyone in town and not worry about the consequences of his actions. Felecia and I were his favorite targets because of our mixed blood." He stood at the table, cleared his throat, and spoke in the most biting, nasal, prissy tone possible. "'You don't belong anywhere.' That was his favorite line. He was predictable in that regard."

"Dad always said to just ignore him, that he wasn't worth the time," Felecia added, her own bright aqua eyes darkening. "It didn't work. Just made him a bigger and bolder nuisance. One of the reasons I took up treasure hunting meant I wouldn't have to see his arrogant little face wherever I went. Trust me I'd love to see how he'd handle himself against a tomb full of angry draugr. I wouldn't shed any tears if they hacked him to pieces with those old weapons of theirs."

"Or just pulled him apart with their bare hands." Erik clenched his fist. "I really tried to just live and let live. Just tried to do my job and do it well. Go out into the forest, chop down some trees, and relish nature. Lyle's not only a total prick, but he's also lazy as all get out. Never worked a day in his life. Not that he let it stop him from following the work crews out into the woods all to mock and berate me whenever he could. I could never have a moment's peace, and I developed a real attitude about it. Of course, I was just playing into Lyle's hands by never speaking up." Felecia embraced her brother, quietly reassuring him how much he was loved.

He sat leaned back in his chair, taking another swig of wine. "One day it finally just became too much. Lyle told me that the only reason Felecia and I were even accepted by the community was because of Dad's position in the army. Without that, both of us would have been nothing more than slaves. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I was wholly convinced that I was a burden to the family, and I wasn't going to continue to be his punching bag. I packed up a few things and left home, swearing never to come back here again so I wouldn't be an eyesore." Now it was Quara's turn to hug her son. She said nothing, didn't have to.

I really felt bad for Erik at that moment, watching as both his mother and sister hugged him, tears in their eyes. It was bad enough being born an elf or a dwarf in Midgard but being a child of two worlds meant double the rejection. Humans feared what they didn't understand and wondered if they were some kind of double agent just waiting to stab them in the back. Elves meanwhile would see such a union as an abomination tainting their precious blood. Bottom line, nobody wins. "So where did you end up after that? I mean, did you know what you were going to do once you left?" I asked.

Erik patted his sister's back, gently pushing her away. "Not right away. My immediate goal was to just put as much distance between myself and here as possible. Then I would consider my next option. In all likelihood, I probably would have gone to one of the big cities like Vizima or Novigrad and joined the guild. I was pretty confident in my sword arm that I could rise in the ranks quickly enough. Adventurers do earn a pretty good living."

"Yeah, but that's still a pretty long walk, bro. What were you going to do about food and lodging before you got there?" Felecia asked quietly.

Erik grimaced uncomfortably. "That is what led me to Thanedd. We all know about Uncle Ioran's crew. The Scoia'tael maintain all manner of hidden outposts and safehouses up and down the continent. I just happened to know the locations of a couple of them. Not the whole network mind you, but a few scattered here and there. I figured if they weren't currently occupied, then I could stay for a night or two and work out what I wanted to do next. Save some coin on inns." He sighed, shaking his head. "Of course, the first place I tried just happened to have an active cell working in the region. The only reason I wasn't killed on sight was because one of them recognized me as their boss's nephew."

"Wow, talk about having the best and worst luck possible all at once." Felecia winced.

"Tell me about it. Anyway, they brought me to Uncle Ioran, and I just unloaded all my feelings on him. I had no one else to turn to in that moment, and he was sympathetic. Uncle Ioran actually cared about how I felt, all the bitterness and hatred I was feeling. He told me that perhaps this was a sign for me to embrace the other side of my heritage. So I joined the Scoia'tael. He told me that I had come at an opportune time. They were getting ready for a big operation, and they were going to need every able blade possible for it."

"Thanedd." That one word was all I had to say. Erik's somber nod was the sole answer we needed.

"There was a meeting of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers taking place. The entire conclave was divided between supporting Nilfgaard and the Imperium. Due to the former's loss during the last war, Emhyr wanted to ensure the Midgardian mages were neutralized, or at the very least sufficiently weakened before launching any kind of invasion west. He made a deal with Ioran. The Elves of Midgard would get their own kingdom in exchange for eliminating the leaders of the faction that supported the Imperium. The prospect of a homeland of our own, not connected to the Golden Pact, was too much of an opportunity to pass up."

Again, Erik knocked back some of the wine. Clearly, he was drawing on as much liquid courage as possible to tell this story. He was in so much pain, the way the flesh around his eyes tightened. "Ioran told me that it was all worth fighting for. We would be remembered as heroes if the coup succeeded. No one would care how much blood was on your hands if you were on the winning side. He had pulled 500 of the Scoia'tael's best for this mission, a considerable investment of resources on his part. However, we weren't the only ones involved. The Nilfs had opened up their wallets deep for any mercenaries, bounty hunters, and general cutthroats who were looking to earn some extra scratch. Take three guesses as to who was one of the groups that answered the call."

"Rodger and his crew?" Felecia shuddered.

"Yeah, back when he actually had a crew. Besides Hammer, and Anvil, there were about fifteen guys Rodger had with him. Oh, they were really eager to get involved." Erik swayed some, the alcohol was kicking in now. "That right there should have been my first warning that everything was going to go absolutely to shit. We raided the citadel, The Imperium mages had been waiting for us! They fought back with true ferocity. My entire cell was eliminated very quickly. One guy had his arms melted off by flames and his head ripped off by an ice spike. Another's entire upper body was torn to shreds by lightning. A third sawn in half by some spell I didn't recognize."

"Sounds like you walked right into a setup," Felecia said.

"We did, the Nilfs had promised they would send reinforcements, but they never came. We had been sold up the river." Erik began shivering. "I panicked and I ran, forgot about everything. I ran out into the streets, and it was a million times worse. The Scoia'tael may be marked as terrorists, but we at least had some semblance of discipline. The hired swords the Nilfs had sent didn't care about any of the objectives. They were just looting and pillaging, and laying waste to everything. This one group had taken a couple of servant girls, ripped their clothes off and they were forcing themselves onto them. I could hear them screaming." Tears were flowing down freely. "So I ran some more! I just kept running and running. Hoping to get to the dock and find a boat, something to just get away!"

"Oh Erik." Felecia sobbed alongside her brother. Erik ran his fingers along his sister's back, relishing pure familial love.

"I quite literally ran into Rodger and the remains of his crew. They hadn't fared much better, there was only four of them, including one guy who died as we made our way to the docks. Rodger was missing an arm, and they decided enough was enough and were cutting their losses. Never thought I would have been so happy to see them. I just wanted to be free. We found the first ship and set off into the night. I told Rodger I just wanted to go home, but he convinced me that I would probably be executed the minute I set foot back in Mountain Glenn for my part in the attack. So I was resigned to staying with them as we traveled to Vizima. I had lost all hope, reconciled that the rest of my days would be spent with a one armed drunk and his two idiotic fuckhead groupies, forced to babysit a bunch of ungrateful whiny whores who would never appreciate the fact I was trying to keep them safe." Some of the bitterness had trickled back into his voice.

So, I did what I did best, injected some much-needed wit. "Then I guess it's a really good thing Kyana and I walked in the door then, huh?" I offered a cheeky smile. Erik wiped away the tears and mirrored my grin. "Otherwise, Rodger would have kept you under his boot for who knows how long?"

"When I saw the two of you, I may have felt a little sliver of hope. But it would mean getting rid of Rodger. I saw he was starting to get his hooks into you like he did me. I wanted to warn you, but he always kept us busy. There was never any time to just talk about it. And I was still pretty beaten down. But I'm really glad you three showed up." He held up his fist. "Thanks for the save, Ezra."

"Any time, Bro. Any time at all." I returned the fist bump. Kyana just giggled in her sleep. "Ezra, you don't have to feel responsible for anything…just stay with me tonight." That spoke to me on a lot of levels. I gently stroked Kyana's cheek and picked her up in my arms. I wondered just how asleep she really was when she put her arms around my neck. It didn't matter. Kyana deserved her rest. "I'll put her to bed and then come back down to help you guys clean up."

"You can take her to my room. I have double beds if I had a friend from school over." Felecia stood up and began helping with the dishes. So, I walked up the heavy wooden stairs to the bedrooms. Kyana sighed happily as I laid her on one of the twin beds in her cousin's room. It was everything I expected from her, lacy curtains. The sheets and fancy duvets on the beds were all in varying shades of blue. I couldn't help but smile, realizing it truly was her favorite color. But I caught something out of the corner of my eye, a very bright red something. It was a headband resting on her desk. A gift from her father most likely, given his choice of color. I pulled the covers over Kyana and left the room to help the others finish cleaning.

(Four Trees Tavern)

Any good town would have a decent inn. Luckily Mountain Glenn's local watering hole filled that role perfectly. The arrival of the Scattered Feathers had been good for the innkeeper. The usually sleepy tavern was now filled with a very loud, boisterous crowd that paid very well. Most of them at least, or so Fianna tells me. Rose had been sitting at the bar for most of the night, nursing a barely touched tankard of beer. "Hey there, Rosie." Our resident bard dropped on the stool next to her. "The local hooch not to your liking very much?"

"Meh, pisswater is pisswater no matter where it comes from." She grumbled, knocking it back. She let out a lively, unladylike belch. "Well…I suppose this is a slightly superior form of pisswater. At least these scrubs have some sense of quality about their booze. But that's not saying much given what I've had in the past."

"Something eating away at you, Rosie?" Fianna drawled, leaning ever closer. It was obvious somebody was looking to get lucky tonight.

"Do not call me that!" Rose snapped irritably, looking almost ready to swipe at the bard, but it was then Noa dropped onto the stool on her other side. A sharp glare, punctuated by a barely noticeable shake of the head, made the former prostitute change her mind. Instead, Rose did another condescending hair flip.

"Ah, because it reminds you of your departed, deadbeat dad? Gotcha. But still answer my question, something's eating away at you. Perhaps it has to do with a certain wannabe Witcher who seems quite enamored with you?" Despite her propensity for stirring things up, Fianna was very perceptive. Call it the critical, trained eye of a bard. Rose's hands tensed on the handle of the mug. "Ah, I knew it! You do have an eye for him. So why didn't you join Ezra and the others for dinner? I'm sure Lady Quara would have set a place for you at the table."

Rose just snorted. "Let's just say I'm not exactly on the friendliest of terms with Elf Lady's brats right now. When the dummy bought my freedom, knife ears, hot pants bitch, and woodland slut weren't happy with his decision, they threatened to put a slave seal on me!" Both girls looked at Rose inquisitively. Clearly wanting more information about the nature of such an escalation. Rose sighed in resignation, swirling the ale in her mug. "Okay, I might have thrown out a few insults at them, but I was in a very precarious position. I had no power, no control. I felt backed into a corner, what was I supposed to do in that situation? I had just got my freedom and now they were going to shackle me all over again?"

"Uh, this is just me talking, but you didn't really need to be in any kind of position of strength if you were just humble and didn't act so hostile all the time." Noa pointed out. Rose wanted to protest, but even she couldn't deny it given the stern look the mage was handing her. "I'll even hit you with some knowledge. Erik and the others couldn't have branded you even if they wanted to. The seal has to be made with the owner, in your case Ezra's, explicit consent. They would need his blood and mana to even activate the seal in the first place. So it was an empty threat on their part."

"Yeah, they definitely overreacted on their part." Fianna leaned on her arm. "In my opinion, it would have never happened at all. Erik is too soft to think of drawing blood from Ezra because they're like brothers. Felecia and Kyana would both have a cow if anyone touched him. So I don't think you have to worry about sporting a bad tattoo any time soon."

"How can you be so fucking certain of that? How do you know they won't try to jump me the first chance I walk in the door?" Despite how tough her words sounded, and the aggressive, tough demeanor that would become her trademark down the line, Fianna could see the genuine fear in Rose's eyes. The events in the Vizima flat still weighed heavily on her mind. And the uncertainty of not being in control of her own fate was something that didn't sit well with her, and she was looking for any kind of outlet for said fear.

"I know this because I might have made a pass at Kyana. Oh, she turned me down hard, but it was clear as day to me that she cares for Ezra as more than just a friend." Fianna delicately sipped her drink, resting her chin in her hand, smirking despite herself.

Rose leered in return at this, knowing where this was leading. "Yeah, the little butt slut did get pretty offended when I called Ezra an idiot. There's definitely something there. Too bad he's too oblivious to figure it out for himself." You know, it's a real shame I wasn't there to see Rose and Fianna bond like that. I would have been happy to see her making connections and opening up some. On the other hand, I also would have been worried about anything Fianna would teach Rose. There's no telling with her sometimes.

(Later That Night)

I was bunking out with Erik that night. Is it wrong to say that his floor just felt very comfortable to me? I suppose with sleeping on the dirt and rocks, not to mention the thin lumpy pad that was supposed to be a mattress in Vizima, even the smoothly polished planking of Erik's floor would feel good to me. I was in that state between being half asleep and awake when I heard the chiming of a bell. It was light, ethereal even. My eyes snapped open. Now I know for a fact that it was late at night. The house should have been pitch black inside. But I could see quite clearly, not just because I have great night vision, but because I saw this gently undulating wisp of golden light above my head like a thread of pure incandescence lighting up the entire room. Erik was still totally zonked, given how loud his snoring was at that time.

I heard the chime of the bell again. So with little recourse, I followed the honey-hued trail of light out of the room and into the backyard. I felt the dewy grass between my toes. The warm air on my skin. The black second moon Lilith in the sky peered down at me in concert with her pale sister Luna. The stars twinkled mischievously despite being tied down by Radahan's sheer force deep in the merciless crimson wastes of Caelid to the west. I looked up… That was when I saw…her. A woman sitting on the wooden fence. Now this in itself seemed pretty innocuous, but when the woman was cloaked entirely in blue, and her skin cold was blue. Porcelain in composition as it shone in the dual moonlight. Her face was covered by a very wide-brimmed hat. I noticed her right eye was completely closed, surrounded by an artful facial tattoo in the shape of a crow's talon glowing with a faint blue light. Her face was smooth like the finest porcelain, almost unmovable. And yet I could see clearly another face ghastly, translucent on her shoulder. It flickered about here and there. Well then, it really makes you wonder just what in the wine served earlier at dinner.

This new arrival rang the bell one more time, before her gaze fell on me. She smiled, or at least one of her faces smiled. It was hard to tell how it kept fading in and out of her body. One minute it was on her shoulder, the next minute it appeared underneath her hat. "Salutations," the doll greeted in an accented voice barely above a whisper, "thee were not the one I was expecting to see, but it matters anon in the long run. This is indeed a splendiferous occasion for our meeting, brief that it may be. Come closer and take a seat," she gestured with her second right arm. Wait…she had three, no four arms? "'Tis a truly magnificent night."

She wasn't wrong, the stars were out in full force, without the bright lights of the city along with both Luna and Lilith out for all to see. They painted the sky with their glittering majesty as I could see the whole of the Milky Way as the sister moons danced above our heads. I leaned up against the fence, and then I took notice of the fact that this woman had two extra limbs, one pair primly folded in her lap, the other steepled in front of her. She just giggled, her laugh as sweet as the bell that woke me up. "'Tis the first time you've seen a woman with four limbs? It is quite useful when you need to carry something beyond the ken of a few tomes." She held a hand out, and I got a real close look at it, noting the segmented joints of her fingers and hands, contributing more to that doll-like quality.

"Just exactly who are you? And while I'm at it, what are you?" My mind was racing through my internal catalog of monsters. She was clearly some kind of spirit or apparition. I paled at the thought of her being a Banshee or even a Nightwraith. Really, I should have been wishing that I had thought to pick up my swords or even just Talion for some kind of protection…. But, somehow, I felt like I would be harming a member of the family… I felt deep guilt at the thought… Why? Why was I feeling this way toward a potentially dangerous entity? Was I under a spell?

The ghastly thing clicked her tongue in distinguished disproval. "Now really, young one?" The woman, no "doll", looked truly offended. Almost hurt as she pouted at me. "You think I am some kind of common ghostly monster to slay? I'm truly hurt that you have such little faith in me." I've come to determine that cute pouting is my weakness.

"Well excuse me." I went for the only weapon I had on me at that moment, sarcasm. I tried my best to mask my confusion, and discomfort through it. "The whole mysterious act doesn't really lend me to being confident about your intentions, strange, multi-limbed two-faced translucent blue lady." Another delicate titter escaped her lips. It was pretty cute on some weird level. It was dignified, almost regal. A hand came up to her to hide her amused smile, and it was fully deliberate on her part. Whoever she was, there was no denying how graceful she was. Everything about her presence just felt so ephemeral. I was half expecting her to turn to tiny points of light if I dared reach out to touch her.

Just looking at her face, made me feel very wistful about this woman. A longing nostalgia I wanted nothing more than to reach out and grab for before it vanished forever. Despite how unsettling her appearance was, that feeling of nostalgia just grew by the moment.

The woman took one of the hands sitting in her lap and reached out to hold mine. It was cool to the touch, like dipping my hand in a spring of purest water, illuminated by moonlight. "The glibness of your tongue is something I find quite amusing. I have no ill intent against thou, you see. You might say the matron of this household goes back longer than your lifetime. Tis true your life is but a flicker in the fire comparison…Yet, I sense there is something about thou's presence that is…familiar to me. How curious indeed. What is thousest called, young one?"

"Ezra, my name is Ezra." What did I have to lose by giving her my name? Maybe my immortal soul… Her hand came to her chest and her spectral face smiled again, fading to appear elsewhere on her body.

"'Tis a good name. My name is Renna. Though it may be the last time we meet. I wish to mark the occasion and provide you with a small boon." With a slight wave of her hand, and a familiar chime. A bell appeared in an ephemeral glow of blue-white light, which I deftly caught in my hands. It rang lightly, and clearly at my touch. "This bell will give you the ability to summon help so long you supply the apparatus of the bell with the traces of a spirit in remembrance." Renna, the phantasmal "Doll", instructed me. Watching me with her single eye beneath the wide-brimmed hat. The ghastly second face appeared once more, this time smiling quite gently before it flickered out. "Use it well, and struggle with your head held high for that is what a man is destined to do unto eternity." Renna blinked softly at me, taking me in for a long moment. Almost as if I were someone dear to her.

"Fare thee well, my dear Ezra." Renna waved slowly with her second left arm, a rune flickering in the air. "My dear Tarnished of no renown…" Of course, she leaves as I have a shit ton of questions for her. I did notice as she faded away, there was a look of pained longing on her delicate features. I reached out and then she was gone, my fingers passing through the air and leaving me alone with the bell still clenched in my hands.

I probably would have stayed there if I didn't feel a delicate hand grip on my shoulder. All my senses went on overdrive, and I turned to see a familiar pair of greenish-blue eyes and feathery strawberry-blonde hair. Felecia had come out of the house, wearing a simple blue tunic and dark shorts, revealing a very nice pair of legs. "Ezra, what are you doing out here in your bare feet? Who were you even talking to?" I looked to where Renna had been sitting on the fence. It was just empty air. What more came to me but to say the truth?

"Uh, I was lured out by a blue ghost witch lady with multiple arms and she gave me this." I held out the bell, upon closer inspection, I had to admit it was a true work of art by a master craftsman. The wooden handle was painted in the same moonlight blue like Renna. The bronze of the bell cup had been polished to a brilliant shine, and engraved with a series of magical rooms. I decided to ring it once, and it was the same sweet, gentle sound that had woken me up too. There wasn't any 'help' as Renna described, but the sound was simply delightful. Her curiosity piqued; Felecia took the bell from me to look at it herself.

As a treasure hunter, she had a talented eye for judging antiques. This certainly qualified. "There's a lot of runic work on this thing." Her fingers brushed over the engravings on the cup. Felecia flipped it over in her hand. "Someone carved runes into the handle as well." She whistled in appreciation. "Whoever did this had a very practiced hand. There's magic in this thing as well. I can see that clearly." She then noticed the trefoil symbol representing the Erdtree on the tip of the handle. "You could probably sell this for a nice sum of Crowns to a merchant in town." She rang it herself, and clearly, I wasn't the only one enchanted by it given how she smiled.

"I know a few people in Enbarr who could give us some nice walking money for it." Felecia hummed, and handed it back to me gently, almost reverently. "I'm sure some posh noble would love it. Put it on a shelf somewhere and brag about how much money he paid for it."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure the ghost witch lady wouldn't appreciate me taking her gift and turning around to sell it for cash. I'm sure I'd be double cursed by Renna, that's her name by the way since I'm pretty sure she's both. I'm not risking being turned into a toad or a gerbil. Or even worse a gerbil with toad legs. That would be way too weird if you ask me." Felecia giggled, and to be totally honest, it was even more beautiful than Renna's laugh or the bell to my ears. She gently nudged me in the arm.

"You know you're not the only one who's familiar with fairy tales. I know a thing or two about them myself. About true love, and what a kiss does to a woman." Felecia's fingers touched her lips, and she started blushing again, a shade of beet red that only she could make look cute on this dual moonlit night. "It doesn't feel real, y'know. I can't believe I just kissed you out of impulse. I just hope my breath wasn't too smelly or that my tongue tasted weird. I know it was real forceful, but it was a knee-jerk reaction from being saved from being raped and who knows what else by that demon for all eternity!" She was getting all flustered now, fearful tears in her eyes. "C-can you really blame me? It was that crazy! As insane as you getting some weird random bell from a mysterious apparition?!"

"Felecia, stop," I said quietly, holding her close with all the loving comfort I could muster. "You're thinking about it way too much." I took hold of her hand, letting her relish the tingles. If there was anything guaranteed to calm her or any of the girls who caught my eye this was it.

She pouted, and her face got even redder as she touched my face. She felt the tingles, and I relished her touch like one would a blessing from Marika. "Oh, you are so one to talk. You're always analyzing every little thing that comes in front of you. You're that one guy who must solve every little puzzle that catches your attention. And it doesn't help that your touch makes me feel like you're always conducting live electricity. You're lightning and I'm the rod, every single time!" I let out an amused chuckle, squeezing her hand even tighter. I never realized how beautiful Felecia really was until standing and seeing her illuminated by the glorious moonlight. I wonder if Renna had set that up on purpose. If so, then I owed the ghost witch a big favor down the line.

"Look at it this way, Felecia. Perhaps it just means we were meant to be together. It was our destiny. Personally, I knew it from the moment we first met back in Bright River." Felecia cuddled up against my chest, nuzzling up to try and hide her cheeks, probably going from beet to tomato. I gently stroked her back as we enjoyed the night air. "I thought you were a boy for that very first week, and you know what? It wouldn't have mattered to me at all. I knew from the moment I washed that mud off your glorious face that I was enchanted with you."

"You are so full of it." She finally said, before looking up with happy tears in her eyes with a grateful smile on her lips. "But I'm really glad you said it." Felecia yawned, not bothering to hide it as she cuddled up to me further. "Let's go inside, Ezra. I'm quite sleepy and a girl needs her beauty sleep." I then surprised her by scooping her up in my arms with a cheeky grin on my face. "H-hey!" In response, Felecia let out a flustered cry. "What's that for?"

"Then let me the pleasure of taking the fair maiden to her bed. She shouldn't need to walk." Felecia giggled in acknowledgment, putting her arms around my neck as I carried her inside. Just for a minute, I thought I could hear the bell chime and Renna's laughter one more time. Clearly, she had set this up and was admiring her handiwork. Okay Blue Ghost Witch Lady, I'll definitely owe you for helping me out with this very delicate task.

(The Following Morning)

Wow, this pillow is really soft. I don't recall Erik having such nice pillows on his bed. It was then I felt the pillow twist slightly in my arms, what? All my danger senses pinged when I felt a slight breeze on the back of my neck. My eyes snapped open, only to find Felecia cuddled up in my arms. I then noticed a fifth arm, pale and toned, draped over my side. I looked over my shoulder to find Kyana resting against my back, wearing a green tank top and white shorts. They were both smiling and looking quite content.

The events of last night trickled back into my mind. After coming back inside, I had gone to sleep in Felecia's room. The two of us curled up on the bed. Kyana had clearly woken up, gotten jealous, and cuddled up with us. It was rather cute on some levels. It is weird if I say that both of them smelled really nice? I mean neither of the girls were the type to really wear perfume, but I have to wonder what kind of shampoo the girls used. Felecia's gave off the smell of vanilla and shea butter with a little lavender mixed in. Kyana's was more earthy, with a hint of citrus fruit, orange maybe?

Then the moment got real awkward when a knocking came at the door. "Girls, it's time for breakfast. Come downstairs." Cue Quara and Erik standing in the doorway, and I now had to explain to one of the most powerful mages in Midgard what I was doing in bed with her daughter and niece. I suppose I should be really glad we were all still clothed. Because the Lamperouge Matriarch was suddenly grinning in a way that made me very uncomfortable. "Well, glad to see you're finally taking my advice, Ezra! But both of them at the same time?"

Erik stifled his laughter. "Looks like someone is building a harem!" Oh Erik, my dear brother-in-law. If you only knew what was coming in the future would that remark have been more appropriate? Ignoring the snickers from the mother and the son. I roused both of the girls. Ever so gently I pushed Kyana's shoulder. "Kyana, it's morning." A cute whine escaped her lips as she curled up in a ball, every so reluctantly releasing her death grip on the blanket. Gently ruffling her straw-colored hair. "Hey Felecia, time to wake up." Can I just say how cute Felecia sounds when she's waking up? I wouldn't mind watching those delicate eyes of hers flutter open every morning.

"E-zra?" Felecia exhaled softly as she woke up, her mind still not fully functioning. Kyana grunted as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Both girls looked at me, then looked at each other. And then their attention was drawn to their relatives, both snickering madly. I wisely decided to simply evacuate the bed, sliding between them, and vaulting off the foot of the bed. A good call considering both girls' faces were fast turning the brightest red I've ever seen. No way I wanted to be between them when it sank in what had happened, and I was proven right by the shrillest double shriek I'd ever heard to that point. I think it even surpassed the whole nasty incident with the Dremora, but the less said about that the better.

Quara was unfazed by all this. I can't imagine how much fazes her anymore. "Now that you're done freaking out. How about you get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast?" Against her hand went to her face. "After all I did go to so much trouble for you kids." Grumbling, the girls slid out of bed, and I went to Erik's room to change. Soon enough we all trooped downstairs to breakfast, it was almost as grand as dinner was. Homemade pancakes with plenty of butter and syrup to go around. Sausage biscuit sandwiches, and scrambled eggs. Needless to say, we polished it off in record time. Of course, Mother Lamperouge wasn't about to let us be idle, sending us off to the market to pick up a few things.

We were all getting up to leave when Quara grabbed my arm. "Not you, Ezra. I need your help around here. There are some chores I need to be done that only a man can help me with. I'd ask my son to do it but Erik, Goddess love him, just doesn't work that well under the pressure when I tease him. You're so good at come backs." The Lamperouge siblings and Kyana just looked at me worriedly. She frowned before making a shooing gesture. "Why are you just standing there? Go! You know what I need. It won't take you that long."

"Considering what you said yesterday, Auntie, I have every reason to worry." Kyana's concern was adorable, thinking she had to consider her own aunt a rival for my affections.

"Yeah, Mom, don't try anything remotely fishy." Quara's girlish titter made her daughter's fingers twitch. A part of me wondered if she was wanting to have Sword Breaker at that moment. I could tell how much she was enjoying riling up her children.

Amazingly, Erik was the one who played peacemaker, putting a hand on both girls' shoulders. "Relax, Yana, Fi. I doubt Mom is going to do anything bad to Ezra."

"That's easy for you to say, Erik. You didn't spend years in magic training hell like I did in the woods, brother. Dad teaching us swordsmanship was heaven in comparison." Heh, I could probably relate to Felecia in that regard. Magic was never something to take lightly. Devola and Popola had been remarkably stern in their training of me, you might even call it brutal, but given how difficult it can be to control magic in general. You can't go light on it, or things turn bad fast. I'm sure Quara felt the same way when it came to harnessing such arcane powers.

The three of them collected their gear and headed out, leaving the two of us alone. "Ah, children. They grow up so fast and yet they don't mature fully whenever their parents are around." Quara stood there for a few minutes, before with a wave of her hand she closed the curtains. And it was like a switch had been flipped in her head, I could see the ditzy if caring mother replaced by a woman of authority and power. When she spoke, you listened! "Now that we have some time alone, Ezra. I think it's time I shared with you some things my husband and I learned about your mother." Oh yes, she had my full attention now! Finally, I could get some answers.

We sat back down at the table. My eyes riveted on hers. She held up her hand. "To anticipate your first question, no I have no idea of Yesenia's exact location. Both Mark and Ioran are pursuing any leads that come their way and when I know, you will know. Now while she and I ran in the same circles for years, we never directly met face to face. I do know her reputation. Let me tell you, your mother was quite the hell-raiser. She stepped on the toes of every influential person in all three Imperiums, and made a lot of people very angry at her for that. The only thing that kept your mother safe from any reprisal was the authority of the High King, she was one of his favorites. But there was a falling out between them and I don't know exactly what that is."

Memories of that day in Minas Tor came flooding back to me at that moment. "Mom and Naaman stole something from the Order. I remember how before they attacked Minas Tor, her saying something to that one Order bigshot…Georg, I think. She mentioned something about a couple of Grimoires. He demanded that she give them back, and got really pissed off when she said they weren't in her possession anymore. I don't recall who she gave them to, though. They could be anywhere."

"Hm, Grimoires, is it? I'll be sure to let the menfolk know about them as well. Moving on, Ezra, I am certain you've seen swatches of it here and there, but the entire continent is on the verge of heating up in multiple ways. A fifth war with Nilfgaard is on the horizon in the south. That's where Mark was heading after the whole mess in Vizima. The Eastern Imperium's cold war with Archadia is starting to get warmer by the day. Both sides have been deliberately flaunting each other's respective borders and just wanting an excuse to attack. Speaking of which, they have been on a slow and steady march to the border of Esperia in the far west, snatching up any unaligned countries along the way. Believe me when I say that last one bothers me quite a bit."

It didn't look right for her to frown like that. The way it marred her otherwise flawless beauty broke my heart. I wanted to comfort her in some way, but I didn't know how. But Quara just smiled and patted me on the shoulder before continuing her grim report. "As if that wasn't bad enough, there are all kinds of pogroms and purges happening everywhere as well. The Beastkin and Demihumans in general have been targeted, thanks to those idiots in the Temple of the Golden Order stoking racial tensions to a level not seen in decades. Mages aren't safe in Redania anymore either thanks to Radovid's damn witch hunts."

Hearing all these things made me think of Alisha. "An old friend of mine said much the same thing. If you wanted to really sum it up, the whole of Midgard is a tinderbox just waiting to explode and all it needs is the right spark to set it off." My hand twitched as I felt my crest pulse for a second. "And that spark could be me."

Quara nodded, and that was my indication she really did know more than she was letting on. "Which is why I think the smartest thing for you to do is just remain here and lay low. Mountain Glenn is certainly available to you as a refuge, Ezra. Adrestia is far more secure than when you were hiding in Bright River. Temeria and Redania had been fighting over that stretch of land for years. I'm really not sure what Ioran was thinking about plunking down a village of elves there, but who am I to question my brother's decisions?"

"I appreciate the offer, Aunt Quara, but I'm afraid staying here would be a moot point in the long run." My hand came up, giving off that now familiar warm glow. "Given that I'm already more of a marked man than I was before." With that my Crest came to life, it was the first time I had done so since waking up in the palace after the demonic raid. Quara's face was cool as she gently took hold of my hand and started examining it closely. "You know what this is, don't you?"

"Oh yes." There was a certainty to Quara's voice that was equal parts comforting and terrifying. This was the confirmation I needed and didn't need all at the same time. "So, it finally happened. The Greater Crest of the Sovereign has finally emerged, the legacy of Enno Heurrassein, the Prince of Swords. I haven't seen it since the time before the Shattering War." She smiled, giving me a motherly pat on the head as she ruffled my hair. "Since you have this, Ezra. I suppose it's right to share with you about my family lineage. I'm descended from Enno and his elvish wife, Etoile." Her next words chilled me to the bone. "The specter you were talking to last night, was his younger sister, Ranni, the Princess of the Moon. Which tells me that you likely have a blood connection to them as well, Ezra."

Wow, talk about a wham moment. Clearly, Quara had seen the previous interaction. I had no words for that. But Quara was undeterred. "To be honest, I could never fully nail down your family tree, Ezra. Your mother is such an enigma, and your father even more so. I hope this doesn't discourage you too much, my boy, but you and Yesenia literally appeared out of thin air. Your father could be anyone from a prince to a pauper. That's neither here nor there now. The main issue right here and now is you have that Crest, Enno's Crest. It is the single greatest threat to the current monarchy, and they will do everything in their power to make sure it is extinguished."

"Then I guess hiding forever isn't a permeant option." I finally spoke, still trying to get a handle on this new information. "I don't want Mountain Glenn suffering the same fate Rulid, Minas Tor and Bright River did. Enough people have died because I wasn't willing to face this threat head-on."

Quara embraced me warmly. "For now, though, I think you should stay here, and I can train you until you're ready. Let's face it, as you are right now, you're not anywhere near set to finish when Enno started 4000 years ago. Believe me when I say that I know what that man was capable of, and I do have connections to Ranni. She wouldn't have appeared to you unless she had a good reason." My thoughts went to the bell that I believe was sitting on Felecia's nightstand. "I think you meeting Felecia was written in the stars, just like Enno and Etoile were."

Now, if there was anything I've learned over the years is how the greatest weapon available to me is not my swords, not my pyromancy or sorcery, but knowledge. That right there is what makes the difference between success and failure. Quara had the answers I need, and if there's one thing I pride myself on, it is my ability to soak up knowledge like a sponge. If I was going to find my mother, these Grimoires and unravel this mystery. I was going to need all the help I could get. I opened my mouth, ready to give my answer when a new arrival showed up!

There was a loud pounding at the door, and before either of us could react the thing flew open, almost off the hinges. A loud grating voice rang in the air."Yo Auntie! It's your brother's favorite son! Kill the fatted calf for me because the Prodigal Son has returned home!" He was tall with messy blonde hair held back by a ratty green bandana, a pair of gray eyes peered out from underneath. His weathered coat, colored a purple so dark it could have been black was open, revealing a white shirt underneath. a pair of small crossbows hung on either hip, and an even larger crossbow hung on his back. He folded his arms while taking in the room.

"Well, well, looks like I walked in on something intriguing. You want to let me in on it, Auntie?" He sauntered over to the counter. "Don't mind me, I've been traveling for a while, and I'm famished." Idly picking up a box of crackers which he began messily eating, seriously dude, chew with your mouth closed. No one wants to see all the way to your stomach man. Even Rose is better than that and that's truly saying something right there!

Quara seemed genuinely shocked at whomever this guy was, but Wow, she has a great poker face. "Ah Nero, what a pleasant surprise." That smile couldn't have been more fake, and yet it could have sold me if I wasn't good at reading people. Devola had been the one to teach me about being observant about people and how to read the body language of others. "I wasn't expecting you to show up here today. I didn't think you would be here until next week in fact." All the while her gaze kept flickering back to me, and I could see sheer panic in her eyes.

"What can I say? I move quickly." The lazy drawl in his voice made it evident these two were related, it sounded so laid back, otherworldly. But if how unnerved Quara seemed in Nero's presence was any indication, there was far more to him than met the eye, and none of it good. I could tell myself once I had a chance to finally just look at him, despite his relaxed posture and the smacking of his lips. There was a sinister air to him. "I thought I sent a message letting you know of my arrival. Perhaps it got lost in the mail?"

Okay, I gotta call bullshit on that one. Midgard never even HAD a post system, to begin with! And in likelihood, it would have been just as craptastic as the rest of the Imperium. Nero then laid eyes on me, and his gaze made my hackles rise. There was nothing but contempt for me, or rather what I was. "So what brings a simple human like yourself to the door of my dear Aunt Quara? Is there some grave problem that only her superb elven mind can solve for you?"

Oh yeah, if his look at me wasn't any indication, his words sealed it! Well, if he wants a battle of condescending insults, he picked the wrong guy to start with! "So you're related to Ioran of Calima Nen then? Bright River in the Elvish tongue, right?" Good, Nero was taken off guard that I knew of his uncle's home, much less its elven pronunciation. "I had no idea that he had kids of his own, of course it's likely for a good reason he never told me now that I think about it." I took a cautious step forward, keeping an eye on his hand should he go for any of the crossbows on his person.

"I suppose some formal introductions are in order. The name's Ezra Kanitz, and I've been part of the family for quite a while, eight years in fact. I was brought to Bright River by Michael, I'm sure you've heard of him. Tall, light skinned, great wingspan, likes to burn things with fire. Your old man took me in and gave me a home. But no one ever mentioned the likes of you. I suppose I can understand why, given that you have such a charming fucking aura. I get major serial murderer vibes from you, pal." He leered at me, indicating wordlessly I was correct. "And you're proud of that fact, aren't you?"

The leer only grew, and he let out a low cackle. So, I started circling Nero. "If you're enough to make an Aen Saevherne nervous." My gaze swept over to Quara, having not broken eye contact with her would-be nephew for a minute. "You're a real piece of work, ain'tcha? Yeah, I can see it in your eyes now. Someone has been a very naughty monkey. You're responsible for a whole lot of shit. Mass murder, kidnapping, arson, and probably some jaywalking because you're just petty and you like to irritate people however you can. By all means, stop me if I'm wrong."

The cackle grew into a full-blown belly laugh, he threw back his head letting his wicked humor show. His eyes crinkled in joy as he started mockingly clapping. "Wow! You have some serious powers of observation, and calling me a naughty monkey! Wow, I suppose being just a few links shy of an ape yourself would give you plenty of insight into that! As for the shit I've pulled, you're only scratching the surface, you need to add a whole lot more to my sins." That lopsided grin was just so evil, his teeth glinting as bright as his eyes, none of it good. "I'm responsible for shit tons of dead bodies all over the continent, and tons more of unwillingly pleased ladies. There were always lots of hot chicks in this town. So I'm going to need to perform my duty and see what I can do to make their days better!"

Okay, this guy was now officially on my shit list. But still…I couldn't help but find the whole scenario kind of funny in a twisted sort of way. "Thaess aep. T'en pavienn, Aen Seidhe." It was my turn to cackle at Nero while I wagged a finger at him like a parent scolding a child. "A naughty little monkey with pointed ears. You elves call us humans apes…I can't see how you are much separated from us. If anybody is the missing link here, then I'm looking right at him. You are a prime specimen for the middle ground between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon. So how do you feel? Being a pointed-eared, hairless ape?" Wow, I really outdid myself on that one. Any faux joviality Nero gave off incinerated.

Heh, fun fact: Elves believe they were divinely created perfectly as is, and the thought of them being evolved from a lesser creature like an ape is pretty much the highest insult you can lob at them. Again, thank you for teaching me that, Devola. And for a guy who thinks he can do whatever the fuck he wants, including mass murder and having his way with poor servant girls…I couldn't think of a nicer thing to say. My eye went to Quara, if the way her lips twitched upward was any indication, she approved of it. Clearly, Nero's ire was up, because his hand drifted ever closer to one of his holstered weapons. I saw a spark of magic around Quara's fingertips. Clearly, she had been waiting for a chance herself. This two-on-one wasn't going to go the way he intended.

"Nero darling, it's not that I'm unhappy to see you. But the thing is." Her hands suddenly whipped up, a glow with magic runes. "You were never welcome here in the first place!" If performing half a dozen household chores with her telekinesis was a sign of how finely polished Quara's mental control was, then the huge burst she used to send Nero flying out the front door ass over teakettle was proof of just how mentally powerful she really was. Damn, he must have gone a good…twenty, maybe even thirty feet through the air. The two of us lurched out of the door toward the psycho's landing site. No better way to kick off the morning with a good throwdown.

"Now I'm really hurt Aunt Quara!" Nero kicked up from the ground. "I didn't think you could treat family so roughly!" He snarled, snapping up one of the crossbows to let a bolt fly right at her face. I saw a slight icy mist coalescing around the arrow tip. My steel sword was out in a second, knocking it out of the sky. I stood in front of her protectively. I knew Felecia and Erik would never forgive me for letting anything happen to their mother. Not to mention I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. Yeah, my thoughts of Minas Tor cropped up more than I liked to admit. Back then I was just a weak child and unable to help my mother. But now…I had power, and I intended to use it. Even if Quara was incredibly powerful in her own right, and could have popped up a shield no problem. My protective instincts were on full blast, and no harm would come to her on my watch.

"So, you've enchanted your bolts with ice magic." I brandished my sword thusly, holding it in a strong guard position. The morning sun caught the light of my blade. "I guess you've got some tricks after all. But trust me you'll need a lot more than that to deal with the both of us." Nero just sneered, launching another bolt from his other crossbow. This one had a small plume of fire about it. This time Quara raised her hand, a semi-translucent milky white panel of energy formed in front of us and the bolt clattered off. He quickly reloaded them, jumping in the air to fire both mini-crossbows at the same time. Only for them to stop midair.

Nero's eyes bulged as Quara, and I wore smug grins as the projectiles were held in our telekinetic grasp. A quick about-face and the bolts launched back toward their point of origin. He started cursing in Elvish and a wave of his hand sent them flying off into the distant woods. Nero landed in a crouch. Just long enough to get a blast of fireballs from yours truly. Still, he had great evasion skills, rolling to the side just as I was going to make his spinal cord a few inches shorter when he cheap shotted me. A mana-infused punch to the jaw is never fun, and I'll give him credit, he had a nice right hook. Not to mention I didn't see him playing nicely from the start. Plus, one punch isn't going to stop me that easily.

I rewarded him with a kick to the face, my steel toe cap colliding beautifully with his smug jaw. "There, now we're even!" The satisfaction dripped from my voice as I watched him spit out a glob of blood, and it even looked like a tooth, but it could have my imagination. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as a frosty wind suddenly gusted through. Strange, considering it was late May. All I had to do was look over my shoulder and realized I had forgotten about Quara. Her entire body was sheathed in a cloak of frosty winds. Guess she wanted her chance to spank the bad monkey. I suppose I shouldn't deny her the pleasure.

"Don't waste time with magic, you have to engage him close up!" Quara called, conjuring up another frosty gale to launch at Nero. "Aside from that oversized crossbow of his, he knows some truly disgusting magic, and you don't want him using it! I'll keep you covered." Well, that is just great fucking news! Spurred on by the Lamperouge Matriarch, I readied my blade and went after Nero. Flames wrapping around my blade. He didn't have time to reload his crossbows and I was going to make sure he didn't ever again. I was going to take those hands of his clean off. I then noticed glowing purple spheres in his hands, the spheres turned into an unearthly fire. The sound of clanging metal rang in my ears as my sword bounced off.

Oh great, he knows Bound Daggers. Nero mock chuckled as he turned the spectral weapons in hand. It made me think of the weapons wielded by all the demons. They flickered and glowed in a very intimidating manner. "Wow, that was a neat trick, and predictable! I've seen the ol' flaming sword routine so many times it's not even funny. You're going to need to do a lot better against me." Fine then, chucklehead. I'm not a one-trick pony. You've only seen the beginning of what I can do. I crouched and lunged at him; my sword being parried off his right-hand dagger while he swung with the left. I twisted my body so the spectral edge caught my sleeve, leaving a slight tear but managing to avoid shedding blood.

I heard a strange twanging sound, Nero's eyes widened in shock and even some fear as we quickly leapt back as a shining bolt of purest blue energy impacted on where the two of us were standing, leaving a good-sized smoking hole in the ground. I looked over to see Quara, now standing with an ornate staff clenched in her right hand, made of very rich ebony wood, adorned with runes of power and elvish script, clearly some kind of incantation, with a shining blue jewel or crystal at the tip. This was my first taste of Glintstone Sorcery, and it was just amazing. My Pyromancy will always be my go-to for magic assault, but watching Quara do her thing made me hope she would teach me some of that, if just for some variety in my repertoire…provided we got out of this alive first.

Quara spun her staff in a circle, eldritch blue energy sweeping in the air. "By the light of the glowing moon, Glintstone Crystal Barrage!" Her staff pointed outward, sending a spray of glowing blue shards at us. Nero growled in rage as he spun his blades about him, knocking several in numerous directions, but a few did find their mark, leaving slashes in both Nero's shoulders, a couple along his legs. He was staggered, stumbling on his feet. That was my cue! Flames once again wrapped around my blade, but I didn't go to swing at Nero, instead aiming it right at the ground.

"Chaos Firestorm!" I roared, watching as the carpet of flames sprung up, followed by roiling magma. And poor Nero was caught right in the middle of that! I looked to Quara, satisfied that we had given her nephew a proper roasting, but I noticed her guard was up, and even stronger than before. I quickly spun around at that maddened laughter coming from the flames. No fucking way he survived that. But he did…Nero stepped out of the flames, he was more than a little singed, but to my utter disbelief, all of his wounds were quickly healing!

"So you actually went and did it then. You actually found the Litany of Blood." Quara just shook her head in pity. "That tome was hidden with good reason, Nero. Blood Magic is nothing to take lightly. Not even your father was willing to make use of it, no matter what lengths he was going to go to for his revolution. It will invariably drive you to insanity, but I can see you're already on that path. I'm wasting my breath." Ugh, the 'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed' tone. If that had been Mom speaking to me, I would have felt so ashamed.

But good ol' Nero was up to the channel. His cackling was unnerving to behold. "You're damn fucking right I found it you old hag! And I learned SO many wonderful things from it! My little blood regeneration ability just being the start!" Nero theatrically threw his hands out. "Let's face it, Blood Magic has always been natural to our family! You and my old man may shy away from it, but I EMBRACED it, bitch! In fact, I think it's time we kicked things up a notch!" I winced as he sliced open his arm, letting blood pool on the ground. He began chanting in a language that was definitely not Elvish, and in a voice that wasn't totally his own. His eyes glowed a sickly molten yellow.

I saw a familiar-looking runic circle forming from the pool of his blood. But unlike on the bridge, it was the same yellow color as his eyes. A bone-white claw emerged from the glowing matrix. I wasn't sure what to make of the creature that Nero summoned. It looked decidedly crablike, but it also had a skeletal air about it, if the blank voids where its eyes should be were any indication. It let out an infernal hiss as it clacked its mandibles together. Nero's cackling was really grating on my nerves now. "Say hello to my little crustacean friend! Hope you like seafood!" My grip tightened on my sword. I was about to switch out my steel blade for Imperial Fang when Quara stopped me.

"You deal with my brother's pathetic crotch stain of an offspring. I can handle this monster. But I think you'll need something with a little extra kick." She held out a hand and in a flash of flames and sorcerous light came a gorgeous-looking sword. The middle part of the blade was made of brilliant golden bronze, and the lower part was adorned with a series of Glintstone crystals. The handle was wrapped in rich red leather with a double cross guard. "Meet Nightstar." She flipped the weapon around in her hand and offered it to me handle first. "Go on, take it and stop hiding your strength."

Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, I sheathed my regular steel sword and took the magnificent tool of war. It just felt right in my hands. Like a part of me I had been missing for a long time had been restored to me at last. I gave Nightstar an experimental swing, cut the air perfectly. I wasn't going to stop there. I went ahead and pulled out Imperial Fang in my left hand. If he had some kind of freaky blood magic thing going on, perhaps silver would give me the edge I needed? Nero just sneered at me before conjuring up a fresh pair of Bound Daggers. Let's see how well they fare against the silver and steel in my hands.

The two of us brandished our respective weapons, and with wordless battle cries, the two of us rushed into round two. Our blades met in a tangle of metal and glowing demonic energy. He tried trapping Nightstar with his left blade while aiming to cleave my head off my shoulders with his right dagger. But I wasn't about to let him have that honor. I parried the dagger with Nightstar and danced around him, while jabbing at him with Imperial Fang, managing to cut along his leg. Is it wrong to say that I was delighted by the howl of pain that erupted from his lips? Clearly silver had an effect on him. The wound was closing, but not as quickly as before. He clumsily swung his dagger at me, but clanged off Imperial Fang.

The roaring in the distance made me sneak a glance toward Quara. She had produced a new staff, this one was very different looking, made of a much lighter colored wood, almost looking bone like. It had ornate carvings running up the length of it and it was tipped by a cross made of silver and gold. The shield she conjured up this time was fully solid, the crab monster roared and swung at it, but I knew it wouldn't break so easily. The shield hadn't even half dissipated when The Lamperouge Matriarch raised her staff to the sky, and she chanted in the elvish tongue. The cross started glowing with the purest white light I had ever seen, lancing out to take a huge gash out of the monster's side. Holy magic was no joke.

Putting my focus back on Nero, I decided to not waste time with small moves and went for a Sharp Nail with Imperial Fang, the red-light tracing in the air, slashing left to right upwards across Nero's torso, swinging back in the opposite direction horizontally, and going back in the other direction to hit Nero three times, but I wasn't stopping there. I primed Nightstar and launched into a Vertical Arc, the Glintstone crystals seeming to glow all the brighter. As I finished my second Sword Skill, I discovered just what my new blade could do. I brought it back for a thrust when the crystals flared and threw a powerful sorcery shaped like a comet right at Nero.

"Shit!" Nero dropped his daggers and quickly brought his giant crossbow up. Finally pulled out the big guns. He fired three bolts in quick succession. It was a sight to behold really, watching as they tore through the sorcery I had inadvertently released, causing a flare of light as the spell collapsed. "Ha! Cold iron mixed with Dimeritium. You're going to have to do better than that!" He sneered, but as the light faded. I wasn't there. "What the fuck?" He only had enough time to bring his crossbow up to block as I came down, Nightstar trailing fire down, I got my biggest satisfaction of the day as I cleaved through the bow and then the central part of the weapon, and now Nero was just holding a useless, smoking piece of wood.

Quara had really done a number on whatever kind of demon Nero had summoned. The bone white carapace covered in smoking gashes, lined by cracks in the creatures shell, a ball of purest white light the size of a small boulder formed in front of her. A wave of her staff and now the monster was missing its right arm and the accompanying side of its face…ouch. Not wanting the poor creature to suffer. I made use of Nightstar's recently discovered power, launching a stream of fire at the creature at the same time Quara struck the finishing blow. The monster let out a mournful cry as it disintegrated into ash. One less problem to deal with.

I still wasn't done with Nero. Distracted by the loss of his main weapon, I swung Imperial Fang one more time, looking to take the bastard's head clean off, but he was quick to recover. But not before I tore off the hip pouch hanging on his belt. It looked important so I figured it was smart to deny him its use. Hey, if anything else I'd be leaving him flat-ass broke. Nero cursed and seemed ready to call forth his daggers once again, only for me to stick Nightstar right in his face. "Do yourself a favor and leave this place. Trust me, if you're such a stone-cold badass psycho killer, surely you can tell when you've been beaten."

"I'll remember this you filthy worm!" The venom was palpable in his voice. "Next time I see you I'm going to make your last minutes alive miserable! You and the rest of your little cadre of bitches! I saw you come in with them all earlier. None of them will survive!" And with that he ran off, taking off into the woods down the road with all the speed of a bat out of hell. Good riddance to the assclown. The threat neutralized, for now, I approached Quara, leaning on her staff. I guess between using the sorceries and the divine magic from earlier took a bit of a toll. At least she was still alive.

"Not bad at all, Mrs. L. You took care of that oversized piece of rotten seafood with style!" Now that I had a chance to look at the staff up close, I could tell this was not just some walking stick fashioned from a random piece of wood. The carvings ran up the entire length of the shaft, and it was encrusted with silver, inlaid with pearls and diamonds. "You have very nice taste in your staves, Lady Quara. It's a true work of art, and something tells me this was made for the exclusive use of holy magic." She smiled and gave a graceful nod.

"Very observant eye, my junior Witcher. Over the course of three centuries, I've learned many kinds of magic. But what's nearest and dearest to my heart is the holy light magic that was initially wielded by Etoile herself. This staff, the Celestial Nirvana, belonged to her once upon a time. It's the partner to Nightstar." She leaned in, giving me a knowing smile and wink. "For that was the blade of her beloved, the Prince of Swords himself. In fact, why don't you hang onto it for a while? Something tells me you were meant to have that sword. At least it won't be gathering dust anymore." Again, not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she said this was Enno's weapon. Definitely going to need to look into that further.

I then remembered the pouch clenched in my hand. "Uh, I took this off your nephew, and I use that term quite loosely." Handing it over to her. "Perhaps there's something in there that can be useful?" She opened it up, frowning to find just a single loose piece of ratty parchment inside. Quara opened it up and gasped in shock. I tugged it away to look at it myself. It was a map, one that I did not recognize. Crudely drawn notes were scribbled, and a place was circled. "Nokron and Nokstella?" I finally spoke, breathing out the words questioningly. Something about them made me feel a sense of both curiosity and dread. "What does that mean?"

Quara's cold glare made me shiver. "Something that was believed lost centuries ago. A pair of ancient cities said to be swallowed by the very earth itself. If Nero has found the lost cities of the Nox, then it means he's after a weapon of great power." She turned on her heel and made for the house. Her hair trailed behind her as she moved with each powerful stride. "Go and get the others, Ezra, I fear things have just gotten far worse than we thought!"

Oh… hee fucking ho. To the underground, I go. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Ever.