A deep booming thunder woke Grugg up from his sleep. Sitting up sharply in his bed, he found he was drenched in sweat, despite the low temperature of the room. He rubbed his eye and looked around the room blearily. Gregor was nowhere to be seen, but at least the Detective badge was there to welcome him to the new day. A flash of lightning briefly lit the room through the thin gaps masquerading as windows for the airy barn.

[You are awake. I was starting to get worried.]

The rumble of thunder struck out over Helpart - it sounded like it was close. “Morning Bart, everything okay?” The presence of the renewed wizard was one of the things that made the morning the best part of the day.

[Yes, thank you, I was able to replenish my mana and even-]

The barn door swung open with a grinding noise as the bottom ground across part of the floor that hadn’t been worn down enough to accommodate it opening fully. Gregor backed into the room, dragging a trolley, the warm scent of cooked food trailing close behind. This was perhaps the second best part of the day.

“Gregor is okay too?”

The ratman turned to face the Detective, and in addition to looking out of breath, some blood had seeped through his bandages. Despite this, he allowed himself a painful bow and grin towards the cyclops.

[It looks like he isn’t resting as much as he should be.]

“Never better, ser Grugg. When I awoke this morning and found you not-dead beside me, I had to go and find out what you got up to. And to show you some gratitude, a breakfast I acquired.”

[Acquired?]

The ratman lifted the cover of the trolley to reveal the contents. Steam rose from the plate stuffed full of various things, accompanied by another flash of lightning for dramatic effect. “I’m not even sure what this is”, he prodded at the centerpiece object on his platter with a clawed finger.

[That’s lobster, not common here, as it comes from the far coast.]

“Lob-star,” Grugg nodded knowingly in an effort to seem wise to his assistant. “Gregor having some too?”

“No.” Gregor folded his arms against his bandaged chest. “Already ate. Also placed an order with your lady friend. If you could pick everything up before we go to question Reggie. Right now, I am going to pass out from agony on your bed, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay, that sounds-” Grugg began before the ratman immediately flopped onto the empty space on the straw mattress with a long hiss.

[I did say he would need lots of bed rest, and he can’t heal the same way you can.]

Looking down at his forearms, the wizard was right. Almost fully healed overnight, it would be a reasonable guess to assume that the extra body heat that had made him all sweaty was due to that. With a thick finger, he prodded the ratman on the shoulder. “Hey, Gregor…” he whispered in a hushed tone. No response; his assistant was already fast asleep.

He dug into the food, and every morsel was mouth-wateringly delicious. Nobody did fresh cooking quite like humans did, or whoever Gregor had gotten this from. On the other hand, maybe it was just living in the mountain with a scant choice of dietary options. He made a mental note that wherever the mysteries led the both of them, he would have to try new foods whenever he could. Another flash of light, the rumbling noise coming soon after. He glanced over at the sleeping ratman, and he didn’t seem to be very damp.

[Clothes, boots, back here, and then to see the Captain?]

“Mmm,” he grunted, finishing off the last of the food, saving a small amount on the side in case Gregor changed his mind. “Sounds good. Hey, Bart, nice job with that rune thingy.”

[I guess you could say it came to me in a flash of…]

An awkward silence followed as the cyclops waited for the end of the train of thought.

[Inspiration. Sorry, I had hoped we would get another flash of lighting so it could sound all intimidating and dramatic like a wizard-] A brief flash and rumble deafened out the end of his sentence […should.]

“Why, since Bart came into Grugg’s life, weather been so bad?”

[Maybe I had a connection to the God of Rain, and after you killed me, he got upset.]

“Now Bart has connection to Grugg’s head,” he chuckled to himself and swung his legs off the bed. As much as he had to do today, he liked the short moments where he and Bart could talk freely; it was one of the things he missed from the mountains. “Bart, can teach Grugg any spells?”

[That’s a hard one to answer. Generally, magical ability is either something you are born with or inherited, learned through study if you have the capacity, or borrowed from either a powerful entity or through magic items.]

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Grugg not born magical, and less we say about study, the better. Hat is magical item?”

[In a way. And I am able to cast Voice, Healing Ward, and can activate runes, apparently. If we get some more magic scrolls, we could practice casting them together?]

“Okay. Grugg not a fan of paper, though. Just need to make Bart more powerful, then Grugg can borrow more magic?” He stretched his arms out and took his badge from atop the crate, affixing it to his loose shirt.

[Early days, friend. Always, I will do what I can for us. Oh- what I was going to tell you before; I was interrupted by Gregor; I have learned to-]

A double flash as the sky cracked with enough force to vibrate the air surrounding the cabin.

[I have learned to control my mana more efficiently, so I shouldn’t tire myself as far as to not be able to speak anymore.]

“Great! Is no fun when Bart is silent,” the cyclops grinned to himself. All he needed to do was learn to talk through the hat in his head too, and he would always have his friend around.

[I know that I can go on and on sometimes, often about the most boring things, but it is hard to read social cues when perched on top of your head. You just have to tell me to shut up or let me know your mood.]

“Can’t see Bart either. Two eyes between us and still blind,” Grugg shrugged as he tried to attach his sack to the rope belt of his comfortable trousers.

[Very astute and eloquent.]

“Cyclops culture has many smart eye sayings, and they get translated better into Common.” With a sigh, it looked like he was ready. With a last glance over at the sleeping ratman, he opened the door and strode out into the new day.

----------------------------------------

The bell over the door of Threads jingled as Grugg entered. The storm had continued throughout his journey, but thankfully the rain was light and sparse as the wind whipped the clouds down the valley. As much as he was glad to get out of the frightful weather, the shop proprietor was even more pleased to see him enter.

“Grugg! I will be right with you, just sorting out this gentleman,” she beamed, face lighting up at the appearance of the cyclops. She wore a red blouse and dark gray trousers, with her cream work apron over the top. The color combinations really brought out the green in her eyes, Grugg thought, but just nodded with a grin at Claudia.

[Check out that customer, without being too obvious.]

The Detective looked down at the man sitting on a small stool. His dark complexion matched his dark outfit. A padded gambeson with dark gray trimming, covered by a tabard also in black, with a logo of an eye with three swords behind it in white. The man looked up at the cyclops from behind tiny, rounded spectacles and closed the book he had been reading. A very neatly trimmed moustache perched atop his lip and quivered in response to the glare of Grugg.

“Hello,” the cyclops waved without raising his hand too high as to hit the low ceiling. “Grugg also likes clothes.”

[Really smooth. You weren’t meant to engage!]

“You do not look like a Detective,” the curt response came, as his amber eyes went between the casual outfit, the badge, and just the general rough look of the cyclops.

Grugg crouched down, so he was more eye-level with the seated man, meeting his gaze. “Tell Grugg how should look then.”

The customer did not flinch, but a side of his mouth twisted upward in a wry smile. Then, standing, he held his hand out for Grugg to shake, which he complied with gingerly.

“Paulo Reece. I was told there was more to you than meets the eye, Detective Grugg.”

[He looked up at me when he said that.]

Claudia returned with a small box, placing it on the counter. “Oh, there is. Did you hear that he took out a whole Nightshade gang yesterday?” she gushed.

“I did indeed, Miss. Certainly impressive stuff for someone so green.”

“No, Captain is green,” Grugg shook his head before pointing a finger at Paulo’s tabard. “Paulo knows tall Lady, both belong to a gang too?”

The man chuckled, but there was no merriment in the action. “Oh no, we are Investigators. I hadn’t realized Lady Valoth was in the area already; we weren’t due to arrive till.. anyway, I am rambling!” He turned to Claudia and placed some coins on the counter, taking the box and placing it under his arm with the book. “Many thanks for getting this done on such short notice.” He nodded at Grugg as he began to leave.

[What do you think, Grugg?]

“Other than outfit, Paulo is total opposite of Lady.” The wizard probably didn't mean visually, he briefly considered.

“What was that, Grugg? I didn’t hear you over the bell as the Inspector left.”

“Oh. Grugg said, 'Red is a nice color',” the cyclops blurted out before his brain could flounder for a better cover. As luck would have it, it was probably perfect.

“My blouse? Aw, thank you, Detective,” her face did its best to match the bright red of her clothing. “It is my favorite color. Oh- your… assistant? He came by this morning looking half dead and made some orders in your name for you both. He is quite the... character”

[Nice of him to run us up a tab.]

“Thanks, Claudia. Gregor is strange one, but good friend.” Maybe he was a little too trusting; he had known the ratman for barely any time at all. But after nearly dying and then choosing to recover with Grugg in the barn house, it showed a lot of trust.

“If he is Udok, then I trust him too,” she turned and opened up a slim cupboard, burying her face inside, digging around for something within.

Grugg felt his face fill will a warm glow, maybe the wizard still had some healing going on, but he didn’t think he had hurt his cheeks. He wiggled his bare toes on the floor as a new thought squirmed into his head. What if Bart taught him to be a conduit for the Healing Ward spell - then maybe he could help Gregor or other friends to heal up when injured too? He would mention it to the wizard when he got the chance.

“Now, I feel like you are pretty set on your choice to wear the wizard hat,” Claudia began, turning back to him, holding an armful of clothing. “So I altered a second suit that I had in the same color. It will take me a bit longer to make another full suit, so make this one last longer than a day!” She wrinkled her nose with a bright smile and placed it on the counter. “It is also a bit roomier on the seams; I figured you would rather be comfortable than stylish.” She brushed some hair from her face. “Not that I don’t think you look stylish.”

“It's perfect, thanks, Claudia,” he said in earnest; despite his bad experience with the previous suit, he would be up to trying a more comfortable one. Especially under the care of the red-haired lady.

“And there is a padded jacket for your assistant, too. Oh, but he was quite insistent that I added this logo to both of your orders…”

She spread the clothes out to reveal an emblem of a white eye with four swords behind it.