Rem and Jinx

The two animals approached the stables together. This was home now, which meant setting some boundaries with the current inhabitants. If this went badly, they would be coming back here with Echo. Jinx didn't want to chase them away. There was no reason for any hostilities between herself and the other cats.

"Are you sure we shouldn't be running them off? It wouldn't take me long to go fetch Echo," Remington said as he puffed out his chest.

"For the last time, no. We can coexist," said Jinx. "They just have to stay out of the tower and not attack me. I don't mind them roaming around anywhere else."

"You think it will be difficult to convince them?" Rem asked.

Rem overthought like the humans. He was three paws into their world, only one connected him to his origin. "No. Things could get tense for a minute, but follow my lead. There will be lots of posturing." Jinx snuck through the cracked board in the wall, and Rem squeezed in afterward. The room was dimly lit despite the mid-day sun raining down small beams of light where the roof boards were poorly spaced. A black and white cat stood in the middle of a circle of other cats. There must have been a good twenty or thirty of them in total.

"I'm telling you, the small green one is dangerous!" one cat said. "He kidnapped me and began doing something strange to me. Look at my fur! I say we declare him an enemy and attack on sight!"

"He just described Bait, didn't he?" Rem asked.

"Almost certainly." Jinx took the lead, pulling in front of Rem and stomping up to where the other cat was.

It hissed at her immediately. "Who are you?! I'm telling a story here; back off." He said, with a raised paw claw extended. Rem yipped, startling the cat away from Jinx.

"I hate when you do that, Rem; I wasn't much more prepared than he was," Jinx said as she slowly relaxed her posture. "I'd like to speak to whoever runs this colony," Jinx said firmly.

A large fat orange tabby wandered forward. "I am the magnificent tiger of the sunstone," he said as he stood before them. He was large enough that he nearly rivaled Rem in size. "You trespass in my lands. Leave now."

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy. We live here now. So let's set some ground rules, or else the Goblin, that's the name for those short green things, will be told he's allowed to do what he wants with you. That will likely include hunting and eating you. We're off limits, though, so it's no skin off my back if you get on their bad sides. Hell, maybe they'll let the large dog snack on you? He's feral, you know; they call him a wolf. It's like a dog but meaner. Do you really want to be dealing with that without our help?" Jinx asked, playing on their fears.

"Old Nath won't ever let anyone in. Your stay will be short-lived."

"The ghost Nath has already been dealt with. They're holding a party tonight to celebrate their official moving into the tower," Rem nodded in agreement with Jinx.

"Bah, that can't be," Tiger of the Sunstone said.

"Ask your kin. Surely, they've seen us venture into the tower."

There were whispers amongst the other cats for a moment. "What are your terms?" The orange Tabby asked, having confirmed the story with his own people.

"Simple," said Jinx. "Do not attack the humans; let them pet you. It's when they brush their hands against you. Perhaps even allow them to hold you. Do these things, and I am sure the one named Naya will go out of her way to provide you with food. She has already spoiled me with fish at each stop along the way. I expect you will be rewarded for doing nothing more than being friendly."

"Are we allowed to run away and hide from them?" One of the cats asked.

"You may keep as much distance from them as you please," Jinx said.

"Will the gargoyles still honor the accord?"

"Wait, what?" Rem asked.

"The gargoyles atop the tower. They do not attack us so long as we clean up their kills. They mostly eat goats, and we hide the bones so no humans discover them."

"Our masters will negotiate with them shortly. We will remind them that you are to be off limits," Jinx assured them. "You can communicate that, right, Rem?"

The fox nodded its head in agreement. "I can, but I think I must start on it soon. Without thumbs, it is difficult to make it work."

"Are there any other surprises we should know about?" Jinx asked.

"The hot spring, it's strange. One of our tribe fell into it once, and rather than drown, it pushed them up out onto the side of the pool. The water seems to be alive."

"Thank you. May this be the beginning of a long and peaceful coexistence," Jinx said and lowered herself in a pseudo bow. The two animals made their exit together quickly. Just in time to see Bait returning.

He was carrying a bunch of fleece in his arms; it was a pile honestly bigger than himself. He brought it all to his room. Rem could smell his room even from here and hated it. Hopefully, master Alvec would devise some sort of solution. That or Master Mavec. Rem could imagine either of them coming up with a solution to the stinky room.

Rem dashed into the tower, finding the room Alvec had chosen. Raiding his supplies was easy. The problem was opening the ink bottle. Perhaps he should ask for a wand of mage hand. While he still struggled to operate wands, he could do it sometimes, and that was more than enough for a situation like this. Eventually, he was able to pry the cap off the ink bottle. Once he had a scrap piece of parchment weighted down so it wouldn't roll up, he went to work. He dipped a paw into the ink and drew a crude tower and the statues on top. He added an arrow pointing to them, and the word gargoyle. He wasn't sure he spelled it right, but it would be enough for Alvec; he was smart and could piece it all together. He also added a small drawing of the hot spring with the word alive and a big question mark.

Stolen novel; please report.

Just because Rem didn't know what was happening didn't mean he shouldn't guess at it. He left the note where Alvec would find it in the common room, where Rem curled up with it just to be sure.

The Party

Mavec rushed into the room that would be the lab with a handful of ingredients. If he would have to participate in this party, the least he could do was make sure it was as entertaining as possible in a uniquely Mavec way. Alvec, or maybe even Bait, could have devised something like this. Bait's would be bigger but not nearly as elegant. Alvec's would be similar, but the ignition mechanism would almost certainly be manual. It would work, but it wouldn't have the precision of the clockwork ignition he was whipping up. These wouldn't be ordinary fireworks. No, Mavec would give the block a light show like nothing they had seen before. With delays in the releases and vibrant colors, no one but a trained scholar like himself would know how to mix up these fantastic colors. First, brilliant golds; as they faded, the next launcher would blast out a blue light, then a red that would shimmer rather than explode. It was all crystal clear in his head, and the variable clockwork could be set off with a simple switch so long as he pre-wound it. Much to Mavec's own surprise, the alchemy part of this project came together faster than the clockwork. The reason thankfully revealed itself before too long; one of the cogs he was using was bent in such a way as to throw off the timing of the ignition. Replacing the single cog was enough to ignite exactly when Mavec wanted it to. This light show would be the talk of the town.

*******

Alvec arrived to find Rem sleeping on top of a piece of parchment. He walked over, snuck his hand under Rem's chin, and scratched him briefly. The fox lazily stretched out and rolled off from the parchment. He tapped at it with his paws repeatedly while making eye contact with his master. Alvec read the paper and was a bit confused and alarmed by it. The first part was clear enough. The gargoyles at the top of the tower were real. The second bit, which confused Alvec far more, was that the hot spring was "alive?" which left an awful lot of strange and horrifying possibilities. He'd have to discuss it with Mavec later. Maybe they'd need to head back to the academy and ask around.

He quickly cast his array of defensive spells on himself and strolled back into the courtyard. Who could say how well talking with Gargoyles would go. He got within sight of them and reached out with his magic. "Hello there, Gargoyles. I'd like to talk." He pushed out with magic. He felt a presence at the edge of his perception. It was rigid and slow to respond.

"Hello," it replied. "You are the masters of this house?"

"Yes, this is ours now. You have lived here?" Alvec asked.

"Yes, this is home," said the Gargoyle. "We hunt at night and sleep here during the day."

"What type of things do you hunt?" Alvec asked.

"Small game in the forests and fields around Sha-Laial. Sometimes, we take goats and the like."

"But not humanoids?"

"No, nor dogs or cats," the Gargoyle said with the barest shake of its head. "Humanoids are very fond of their canine and feline companions. To eat them would quickly earn their ire and assure our deaths. Even if it would take them a while to find us."

"Where are you from?" Alvec asked.

"Our grandfathers came here from the Stony Domain. They were employed during the great wars."

"Would you like me to return you to the facet earth? I can't do it immediately, but I could work on it." Alvec said.

"No, this is our home. We have known nothing more than the sun and sky of this world. We have no home in the Stony domain."

"Alright, that makes sense."

"Will you keep our secret and allow us to continue existing here?"

"On some conditions," Alvec replied.

"State your terms, master wizard."

"You stick to your hunting guidelines. No humanoids, no cats, no canines. Additionally, you help keep this place safe. Watch over it during the day and report on anything strange. Those are my only terms."

"Your terms are agreeable. We do not mind keeping an eye on the place."

"Oh, hey, do you know anything about the hot spring? My fox, who is also off limits for eating, said something about it being alive." There was a moment of silence before the voice pushed back.

"I do not know if it is alive, but I have seen that it has pushed several cats who had fallen into it free. I have not seen it move in such a way to indicate any intellect, however."

"Thank you for your time."

"You are most welcome, master wizard." Alvec went back inside. Knowing that the gargoyles were safe enough, he wasn't all that concerned about them. He was glad they hadn't decided to fight him. It would have been a shame to slay them after they had lived for generations here. He tapped his boots. Silently grateful that he'd chosen to craft these as one of his first items. They minimized fall damage. So, even being dropped from the top of the tower wouldn't have been fatal.

*****

With everything arranged, Illaria was already busy working on the next project. While the rooms were reasonably clean, their furnishings were sparse. They'd need new beds for sure, at the least. She'd already contacted a merchant and a contractor who could install bathrooms into the tower. All that remained was seeing which members wanted to upgrade their rooms and collect the gold. Unsurprisingly, everyone but Bait opted to add a bathroom to their chambers. As far as Bait was concerned, his chamber was the bathroom. God's above and below. She hated that. All said and done, it would run over a thousand gold a piece to update the tower, but it was very affordable for the group. She collected the funds and went about town, placing the orders.

It was bittersweet to be doing this sort of purchasing. It reminded her of a quieter time in her life. Where she was as versed in going over spreadsheets as she was in swordplay, where the minutia of trade and taxes were not lost to her. Nowadays, though, her world demands a different set of skills. Her blade needed to be keen, and her instincts equally as sharp. After all these years of searching, she'd barely heard a whisper of what had happened to her folks. It was disheartening. But she wouldn't dwell on that fact tonight. Tonight, she would celebrate and continue to forge strong bonds she could call upon to help her the day she finally found any information on what Crowley had done with them.

She was sure they weren't dead. Cutthroat Crowley hadn't gotten to be the thorn in the Blue Banner's side by being dumb. He was ruthless and cutthroat. Calculating and scheming. He struck when he knew he would win and utilized his resources well. There was no way he'd just dispose of them. The best bet was that they had been sold into slavery somewhere in the neighboring kingdoms. Slavery was outlawed here, but other parts of the world weren't as lovely as the Empire. Ageneon was a very fair ruler. Perhaps she would stay with this group for a while. Maybe they could use their arcane spells to track them down. Or, if not that, she'd earn enough gold to buy the services of the academy of Sha-Laial. Perhaps someone there would be able to send her in the right direction. For now, she'd wait to return to the sea.