They cleaned up after everyone recovered enough to move and went to sleep in their huts, having their own spaces for the first time in over a month.

Anna was laying on her bedroll. She had made up with Lyreen, and by the sound of it, Lyreen had made up with Voekeer. Everything was fine now, but she still wasn’t sure she wanted to keep adventuring with them when they got back. “I’ll talk to Thokri about it,” Anna thought, falling asleep as quickly.

She was the first up the next day. She left the village to hunt, leaving a note behind to let her friends know. She didn’t want them to think she ran off again. She intended to replace the meat the bat people had given them. They were generous and kind, even when they didn’t have much, and she felt bad for eating their food when she didn’t really need to.

The bat men couldn’t hunt the largest of game in the area, so she took a giant scorpion, a few giant spiders, and even a fat centipede that was longer than the scorpion and so big around, she couldn’t put her arms all the way around it. She brought the beasts back to the village. The others just stared for a moment.

“Lass, that’s one big bug,” Thokri said, looking at the centipede.

“Never had one before, but I figured it was worth a try,” Anna said.

“Why so much?” Elaine asked.

“The bat people didn’t have much, but they still shared with us. I wanted to help them,” Anna said.

Barika started to smile. “That was a wonderful thing to do,” Barika said. Anna smiled back.

She looked around. The bat folk were just starting to move around. She began to process the centipede. The others started on the scorpion and the spiders. The bat people swarmed down to help soon after. The party had started quickly. Finishing the task, George walked over.

“Why did you do this?” he asked.

“You gave us so much. I wanted to return the favor,” Anna replied.

“This is much more than we gave,” he said.

“I like to help people, and you can’t hunt the big ones, so I did,” Anna said.

George seemed thoughtful for a moment. “Would you like anything?” George asked.

Anna just looked down. “I don’t really want or need anything, except a cupcake. That would be nice,” Anna thought. “Do you have anything sweet?” Anna asked.

He thought about it for a moment, then he smiled and flew off.

The party began to smoke the meat using flame crystals and damp mushrooms. The bat people didn’t preserve food but could eat it. The party planned on creating a large food store for the village in the months they had left before spring.

They worked for hours, finishing in what she thought was early evening. They sat near a glowing cluster of mushrooms.

“It’s hard work, but I like it more than dealing with the spider people,” Lyreen said.

“I wish you all would have told me what was going on earlier. I just wanted to help them. I didn’t know they were so awful,” Anna said.

“Helping others is a righteous thing. A king or a slave, it doesn’t matter. The spider people may not have deserved your help, but it was still a good thing to help them,” Barika said.

Anna smiled. “I’m still not sure what I should be doing,” Anna said, mostly to herself.

“Don’t worry about what you should do. What do you want to do?” Elaine asked.

“What do I want?” she thought. She thought about it for a moment and then smiled again. “I want to see what’s at the end of every road. I want to go to the bottom of the deep ground. I want to climb the highest mountains. I want to swim across the ocean, and I want to walk on the moon,” Anna replied, pointing up.

“Oh, is that all?” Elaine said with a smile.

“I want all of you to walk with me when you can,” Anna said.

“That sounds like the kind of adventure I wanted. I’ll go,” Lyreen said.

“I wanted to be an adventurer. I can’t think of a person that will have more than you,” Voekeer said.

“Lass, I’ve been wandering for fifty years and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. I’ll be there,” Thokri said.

“I told you I’ll be at your side for as long as I can. You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” Elaine said.

Anna looked at Barika. The woman was smiling at her. “Of course, I’ll go with you. My task is to help all who need it, and your kind heart wants you to do the same,” Barika said.

Anna wasn’t sure that her heart was kind, but so many people had helped her, and she wanted to give others a chance.

“Thanks. All of you. It means a lot to me,” Anna said.

“So, you made up your mind then?” Thokri asked.

“You could tell,” Anna replied.

“Aye, lass. You’re not hard to read,” Thokri said.

“What were you going to do?” Lyreen asked.

“Lass, Anna doesn’t need us for anything. We hold her back. She would have just spent the next few centuries exploring the deep ground before popping up Stone One knows where and starting over with people,” Thokri said.

“You aren’t holding me back. Life isn’t how strong you are or how fast you run or how much mana you have. It’s what you do, and who you do it with,” Anna replied.

“Much wisdom for one so young,” George said, having returned.

“How long have you been there?” Anna asked.

“Long enough. Here, try this,” George said, handing her a small spiky mushroom.

“What is it?” Anna asked.

“Sweet,” George replied.

She trusted him, so she took a bite. The spikes were just squishy, so she decided it was okay to just eat them. It was the sweetest thing she had ever eaten. It was juicy and sort fluffy and squishy on the inside.

“So good,” she said.

“We can do nothing to help one such as you, but we could give you something new. Thank you for all you have done and will do for my people,” George said.

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“Thank you. I love this,” Anna replied.

“Try something new as often as you can on your walk into forever,” George said and flew off.

“What is that?” Elaine asked.

Anna cut the fluffy mushroom apart with her belt knife and told them what George had said.

“Wise words. It’s a shame that his people aren’t the dominate ones down here,” Barika said.

“It goes like that. Mean folks are usually in charge,” Thokri said.

“It’s a shame, but he’s right,” Elaine said.

“Try this,” Anna said, passing out the pieces of mushroom. They ate them.

“Oh, it’s so sweet, like elder flower nectar,” Lyreen said.

“You had that? Where did you get it?” Voekeer said.

Lyreen looked down shyly. “The elders would sneak me some. They said it was sweet, like me,” Lyreen said.

“They really did spoil you,” Voekeer said.

“I am not spoiled!” Lyreen said, balling her fists.

“I think we’d believe you if you didn’t sound like an angry toddler,” Elaine said.

“I do not,” Lyreen said, and then relaxed. “Well, maybe a little,” she continued.

“Lass, I have three wee ones and have taken care of the whole clan’s flock, and I think you throw more tantrums than they did put together,” Thokri said.

“I never thought I’d agree with Thorki, but you’re worse than my little sisters,” Elaine said.

“How big is your family?” Lyreen asked. She had calmed down.

“I have six sisters and a brother,” Elaine replied.

“So many,” Lyreen replied.

“Yeah. My two oldest sisters were married with kids by the time I was born. Say what you want about my parents, but they love each other, often,” Elaine replied.

“I have four older brothers myself,” Voekeer said.

“You never talk about them. How old are they?” Lyreen asked.

“Well, they all grew up and got married before I was born. A village doesn’t need that many wood carvers, so they moved to other villages. My oldest brother is a thousand years old give or take, my next brother is about eight hundred, and the twins are five hundred,” Voekeer said.

“What, wait, how old are you?” Lyreen asked. She seemed worried.

“Oh, no, I’m only twenty. My parents were sixteen hundred when they had me. Mom was surprised. She thought that she was too old for more,” Voekeer said.

“Your parents are elders?” Lyreen asked.

Voekeer laughed. “Yes, I suppose they are. How about you? How many siblings do you have?” he asked.

Lyreen seemed nervous. “I’m the only one,” Lyreen answered.

“Oh, so you were their first. How old are they?” Voekeer asked.

“They are both one hundred,” she said, and then buried her face in his chest.

“Oh, you poor thing. That explains why you spent so much time with the elders,” Voekeer.

“I don’t get it. What’s the problem?” Elaine asked.

Voekeer sighed, still holding Lyreen. “How can I put this for a human to understand. Elves can have children as you can in our teens, but it’s just not considered acceptable to have them before you’re at least five hundred. We just aren’t considered to be mature enough by our people until then. What Lyreen just told us was the same as a human telling you her parents were thirteen-year-olds.

She was raised by what humans would consider to be her great grandparents, and you know how older folks can spoil little ones,” Voekeer said, smiling at Lyreen. She looked up at him and smiled back.

“Would you like to hear about everyone else’s family?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she said softly, drying her eyes with her hands.

“Well, Thokri, want to tell us?” Voekeer asked.

“Aye, I have twenty brothers and sisters, five still living,” he answered.

“What happened?” Lyreen asked, shocked.

“It’s dangerous in the deep,” Anna replied.

“The lass is right, and don’t worry, little one. Their names are carved on the rock,” Thokri said and pulled his flask and took a drink.

“The clan remembers,” he said in dwarven. He then passed the flask to Anna. She took and drink and chanted the same words.

“What does that mean? What did you say?” Lyreen asked. Thokri looked at Anna.

“The dwarves believe that the name of every fallen dwarf is carved on the Stone One’s heart, and he sheds tears for them that become the jewels in the ground. As for the saying, it means the clan remembers. It’s said when mentioning the dead so their spirt knows that their family will aways remember them,” Anna replied.

“That sounds wonderful,” Lyreen said.

“Aye. In the end, family is all that matters. The one you are born with or the one you meet along the way,” Thokri said.

“I think there are more to dwarves that I imagined,” Lyreen said. Thokri nodded at her.

Barika sighed. She had a bitter look on her face. “I suppose it’s my turn. I had fourteen siblings when I ran away twenty years ago. I may have more now, or less. Some may have gone to the goddess,” Barika said.

“Why did you run away?” Lyreen asked.

Barika looked away for a moment. “It is a custom among my people for our parents to arrange marriages. The boy’s family pays the girls family for her. My father told me I was to be married to a shepherd boy for a hundred goats. I begged him not too, but he just told me to know my place, and my mother wouldn’t even look at me. I ran away that night and traveled from village to village, learning all I could from the wise women about healing, helping all those along the way. I found the goddess and took my vows, but I haven’t been home in all that time,” Barika said.

“But why didn’t you want to marry him? Was he ugly?” Lyreen asked.

“Oh no, child. He was a normal boy. I just prefer women,” Barika replied.

“Wait, you what? Really?” Lyreen asked.

“Yes, child. It’s true,” Barika said with a laugh.

Lyreen looked at each of them. “You all knew? Even you?” Lyreen asked, looking at Anna.

“Yes,” Anna replied.

“Oh, how did you figure it out, child?” Barika asked smiling.

“The way you look at me and where your eyes stop,” Anna replied.

“I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable,” Barika said, her smile fading.

“Nothing can make me uncomfortable,” Anna replied.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Barika said, her smile returning.

“So, my parents were the only ones not married,” Lyreen said sadly. Voekeer pulled her close again.

“I only have one parent, so mine couldn’t have been married either,” Anna replied.

“That’s different,” Lyreen said.

“Is it? He made me and didn’t understand what he was doing. It doesn’t sound that different to me,” Anna said.

Lyreen smiled. “I guess you’re right,” she said.

“He was older though,” she said and laughed. The others looked at her. “The words forever and eternal don’t even describe how old the dreamer is. He has always existed outside of the concept of time, ever dreaming. The day I was born was the only time he ever woke up,” Anna said.

“Had a kid after a long nap. That lad knows how to live,” Thokri said, and they all burst into laughter.

Barika looked nervous.

“You okay?” Anna asked.

“It feels odd insulting a god and then laughing,” Barika replied.

“He’s not a god, and he thinks you all are just good dreams I’m having. Crude, rude, or happy, he doesn’t care what kind of dreams they are. He just wants them all,” Anna said.

“Just dreams?” Barika asked.

“To him, yes, but I know better,” Anna replied.

They continued to talk. Lyreen told them of her parents. She was the result of a tryst during a harvest festival. Her mother hadn’t expected the encounter and hadn’t taken a potion, and when she found out she was with child, the elders forbade her from taking the herbs to stop the pregnancy. She wasn’t allowed to live with her parents. They weren’t allowed to marry either, having proven they were too Immature for a child or a long-term relationship in the eyes of her people.

Her grandparents took her in and raised her with love. She was doted on by the elders who gave her just about everything she could possibly want, including an easier education amongst the humans.

Voekeer, on the other hand, lived a life of strict discipline and work, learning his father’s trade from sunup to sundown every day. Even when his brothers would visit, they only talked about work. His mother was a kind but traditional woman who would not go against his father for any reason.

He had asked to go with the hunters, if only some of the time, knowing that his dream of becoming an adventurer would never happen, but even those requests had been refused. Finally, he simply ran away and made his way to Oldforge. It was the closest city with an adventurer’s guild presence to his village. He often wondered why his father hadn’t come after him but stopped worrying after several years had passed.

Barika told them of her time with the order. Her childhood seemed to be too painful to tell them fully, and Elaine told them of her childhood. Her family, while nobles, were poor, but they were happy. The rift between them wasn’t the fact they stopped paying for her schooling. It was that they didn’t even tell her. She regretted not going home, but her pride wouldn’t allow it until she had both a degree and her license.

Anna had nothing more to add, so they talked about what was next for a while before going to bed for the night.