“You live all the way out here?” Terrowin asked. He stared up at the trees where little birds were singing in wind-rustled branches.

The weather was pleasant. The heat of summer was finally starting to give way to cool breezes that would soon herald the crisp air of autumn. I couldn’t wait for colder weather. My fur absorbed far too much heat from the sun for my liking. I might enjoy a warm rock every so often, but sunning in that heat was a choice. The constant, oppressive heat of the sun any other time was not.

I rode on Cithrael’s shoulders. Raina wasn’t quite steady on her feet yet, and the elf’s body temperature was lower than the rest of the party. Must have been an elf thing, and one I was extremely grateful for in the heat.

“Mother liked to be in nature,” explained my witch. “It’s the way of her ancestors. Being in the city too long strips your attachment to the land, she always said.”

Aelisra frowned. “I don’t think I’ve heard that one before. Where was your mother from?”

“Somewhere north was all she ever told me. Apparently, the witches there are so connected with the land that the very earth will rise to their call, should they come under threat. Animals defend their homes and plants animate to protect them.” Raina sighed at the image. No doubt, stories of such powers had filled her childhood with wonder.

“I’ve lived in the city all my life,” Terrowin said, pushing aside a branch. “In fact, I really only learned how to properly camp once I went on the road. I can’t imagine being out here like this.”

Raina smiled. “It’s home, though.”

The small clearing with the thatch-roof cottage came into view. Though Raina walked ahead as if nothing was wrong, the rest of the party halted at the sight of the door still hanging off its hinges. Weapons were drawn, and they approached with caution.

“They’ve long gone,” Raina said softly. “Like I said, it’s a bit of a mess, but it’s still my home. I grew up here.”

“Who did this, Raina?” Aelisra’s voice was firm and carried dark undertones. The paladin wanted to crack the perpetrator’s skull; I was sure. All in good time. All in good time. I knew who’d done it. We just needed the levels to take him out.

Raina shook her head. “I don’t know. I came back home the morning before joining the guild and it was like this. Didn’t have the heart to clean things up at the time. They took everything of value and destroyed everything else.”

Glass crunched under Raina’s boots as she stepped over the threshold. The destroyed herb bottles lay exactly as we’d left them the last time. The small cauldron still rested at the side of a cold fireplace, and the ritual cauldron was still cracked in half. Raina’s expression grew sad at the sight.

It was time to put my plan into action. I hopped off Cithrael’s shoulders onto a clear section of table. Pulling first my slate, then my chalk from Raina’s belt, I turned to the rest of the party.

Help us repair things.

“No, Malzy!” Raina protested. “I couldn’t possibly ask that. It’s fine.”

I ignored her. Terrowin and Cithrael exchanged a look of hesitation. I took a deep breath. This would require a desperate measure, one that I would only be able to use sparingly, lest they start to get the wrong idea about their status as henchmen.

Help us repair things, please?

They each hesitated only a moment longer before Cithrael’s shoulders relaxed. He nodded and unbuckled his quiver. He set it and the bow by the door, just in case, but otherwise was ready to work.

“You’re not going to let the dainty elf show you two up, are you?” he asked simply.

Aelisra snorted. “Of course not! What kind of hero would I be if I let a crime like this go uncorrected? I learned a thing or two about crafting as an acolyte. Just point me towards the first thing that needs fixing.”

The paladin set her shield and axe down next to the door as well. Piece by piece, she began to strip off her armor. Soon, only Terrowin still seemed unsure. The mint-haired knight looked almost lost in the damaged room…or rather, more lost than he normally was.

“You don’t need to help, Terrowin,” Raina said. “Malzy has already asked more than I ever could, so I don’t hold it against you for not wanting to.” The knight thought it over before eventually smiling and shaking his head.

“Oh, my hesitation isn’t from not wishing to help,” he explained. “I just don’t know how I can be of service.”

You could sweep up the glass.

“Yeah!” Aelisra exclaimed. Her grin was widening by the moment. “If the glass is out of the way, we can get to work on this floor, then move to the cellar and second floor. I’ll get the door. Cithrael, you can help Raina with putting the cupboards back in order as best you can. We’ll start with this, then work our way to other things.”

I purred and rubbed myself against Raina’s hand. My witch looked down at me, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Why did you ask this of them? It’s too much.”

“Tensions were high at the guild,” I answered. “If they work together here, they’ll be better able to work together at the negotiating table, and we can convince them to take the right option.”

“And what’s that?”

I looked up at her and blinked slowly. Then, I flicked my tail. “You’ll figure it out. You’re a smart witch.”

* * *

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

By the time the sun began to set, the main floor had been completely cleared of debris and was starting to look livable again. The kitchen had been tidied up, and Cithrael had even found a few flowers from the garden to plant in the pots hanging over the washing bin. The door was firmly back on its hinges. Aelisra had spent longer than necessary pulling off the hinges, all while complaining about split wood and bad nail holes before putting it back together. Apparently, her education as an acolyte had been more extensive than I’d thought in mundane crafts like carpentry.

Meanwhile, Terrowin and I did our best to clean up the floors…at least, after I showed him the right way to use a broom. The way he held the handle, you’d think he’d never used a broom before in his life. But, what he lacked in knowledge, he made up for in effort. He swept the entire kitchen, took the glass shards to a barrel out back that we could dispose of later, then came back in to help me pick up all the feathers from the pillows that had been gutted.

“Yeah! It’s looking nice!” Aelisra said once she was finally content with the swing of the door. Even I had to admit that it looked better than it probably had before, and it glided smoothly without so much as a squeak. “Anyone mind if we push through and finish the rest? I don’t want to leave Raina with a half-finished job. Would feel wrong.” The boys nodded in agreement.

“That would leave the cellar and the bedrooms upstairs,” Raina explained. “I could take the cellar and-”

I interrupted her with a yowl of protest. Every eye turned to me, and I growled my unhappiness with Raina’s suggestion.

Under no circumstances could she be allowed to see what still waited below. I wouldn’t allow it. Worse still, Aelisra was still in the dark with regard to our secret, and I wanted to keep it that way. I quickly scribbled on my slate, proposing a plan of my own.

Terrowin, Cithrael, and I will take the cellar. You and Aelisra take the bedrooms.

Raina frowned. “You didn’t let me down there last time, either. What is going on, Malzy?”

“Nothing,” I lied. “I just like the dark, remember.”

“You’re lying.”

“And your point would be?”

Our gazes met in a battle of wills which she was woefully underprepared for. I was too stubborn to let her defeat me over something so important. She narrowed her eyes. I just stared cooly into hers.

In the end, she sighed and broke eye contact. I purred, victory firmly in my paws.

“Fine,” she muttered. “It’s probably for the best anyway. My room is a mess. The boys can do the cellar. Do you mind helping me, Aelisra?”

“Not at all,” the paladin answered, a mischievous smile creeping onto her lips. “You wouldn’t want the boys going through your stuff anyway.” Raina blushed and nodded.

“I hadn’t considered that.”

“Good! It’s decided.” Aelisra took Raina by the hand and began pulling her up the stairs. Once they were gone, I turned to the remaining adventurers.

What you will see is to be kept strictly secret.

They exchanged a look of confusion. Terrowin crossed his arms.

“What exactly is going on there?” he asked. I lowered my head. It was too long to explain in the written word. I’d run out of chalk before getting to the end.

Better to see for yourself.

Then I hopped onto the floor and padded softly towards the stairs. Cithrael and Terrowin followed me in somber silence.

Somehow, the scene was even more dismal in the light of the fire I summoned for their benefit. I’d only beheld the straw effigy in the dark the last time, and no dancing shadows of the horrific thing had been cast upon the walls. Now, with the light of my mana, it was there for all to see.

Terrowin’s breath caught as he read the ominous message: “Death to the Unholy Hellspawn.” The fake blood they’d used was no less vivid now than the day we’d found it.

“Raina hadn’t seen this?” Cithrael asked softly. I shook my head.

I’d like to keep it that way.

“Understandable.”

“So, she really is an absorption caster,” murmured Terrowin. “But, that’s no excuse for this…this…” he gestured to the scene before us. The straw effigy swung slightly on its rope. “Gods, Aelisra is going to have a fit when she finds out.” He rubbed his temples, as if anticipating the coming headache. I didn’t blame him.

She won’t find out.

“And how do you intend to keep that hidden?”

With great care.

“Which would be why you insisted we be the ones to come down here,” he concluded. I nodded in confirmation. Terrowin took a deep breath. “I thank you for your trust, Malzy.” It was nothing. Happy hench-humans were useful hench-humans.

I brushed away the last statement with the fluff of my tail, which was rapidly turning white with chalk dust. Terrowin nodded before grabbing a barrel and pulling it over. He climbed onto the creaking wood and reached up, untying the rope from which the effigy hung.

“I’ll ask Raina where I can find some soap and water for the floor,” Cithrael said. I nodded and began sniffing through the corners of the room for any rats that may have moved in during the building’s vacancy.

In the end, I did find a few nests of low-level critters and insects, but nothing a good ball of Fire III couldn’t fix. Once they were dealt with, I dismissed the fire and lifted the broom towards the corners of the ceiling. With telekinesis at my disposal, the cobwebs came away quickly.

Cithrael and Terrowin worked hard to scrub the death threat from the floor. I briefly thought about telling them to leave the summoning circle itself, but then decided it would be too much to explain. Besides, I didn’t need the circle itself to remind me where I was from. It was a constant thought itching the back of my mind. What mattered more was that I was here.

We finished cleaning long before the girls did. Upstairs, we could hear them laughing and enjoying themselves as they cleaned up Raina’s bedroom. Rather than do nothing while we waited, Cithrael took up his bow and decided to take a stroll through the forest, leaving Terrowin and I alone on the small bench next to the fire. It was a hard, wooden piece of furniture without the pillows, but Raina insisted that she would stitch them another time.

“Would you believe me if I said I’d never actually fixed anything before in my life?” Terrowin asked. “Never had to clean anything, either.”

Given how you hold a broom? Yes.

He laughed. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?” then he scratched his head in embarrassment. “I guess if a cat is teaching me how to clean, then I really was sheltered.”

I wasn’t sure how he made that leap. After all, I am extremely particular about my appearance, as many cats are. Of course, few cats would willingly stoop to the level of a servant to clean anything. I’d only done so in order to help my hench-humans reach their full potential. They needed this day, whether they realized it or not.

“I really don’t want to leave, Malzy,” Terrowin said too softly for human ears.

Then don’t.

It seemed simple enough to me, but he hung his head, brow furled with sorrow.

“I might not have a choice,” he admitted. There was a moment of silence before he took a deep breath. “Have you ever been hunted, Malzy?”

Images of my old life, the single memory I had, flashed before my eyes. The fear of being tracked, knowing that every step you took could lead you right into the jaws of the enemy…I did know that feeling. I knew it well.

Yes.

“Then you might be the only one to understand how I feel.” Terrowin sighed. “I don’t want my friends to get hurt because of me. The attack the other night. I’m certain I was at least one of the targets, and Raina nearly died because of me.”

Raina was a target, too. I’ve been investigating.

“But she wasn’t the only one. What if Cithrael or Aelisra had been hurt, too? Or you?”

I was hurt. Erik smote me.

He smiled. “That’s different.” He leaned back against the bench. “I just don’t know what to do.”

I crouched next to him, wrapping my tail around my paws to look like the burned loaf that amused him so much. He was lost and looking to me for guidance. Though he had no physical injuries, I purred my Feline Favor to him. The comforting mana washed over him, and I felt him relax.

More than ever, I felt the lure of the cored equipment. Such a journey may help Terrowin to relax and stay with the party. Now, if I could just convince Aelisra to join us.