The door was opened by a very attractive, middle-aged Maegar woman, a happy and welcoming look on her face. She enthusiastically pulled Goran into a hug, saying something I didn’t understand. She then gestured to the two Eirblaidd bodies that Goran had been carrying around and seemed to be remarking on them happily after greeting the returning warrior.

She was tall, even by the standards of Goran women, to the point that she nearly matched the warriors we saw in the cave, the top of her head reaching Goran’s nose. Her black hair bounced behind her in two twin braids and her smile at us was blindingly white against her pitch-dark scaled skin. Her figure was full and feminine, though, her dimensions mostly that of a pretty looking human woman that had merely been blown up to near 7-foot proportions, with only slightly exaggerated length in her arms and legs. She was dressed modestly in a flowing white robe that ended at her ankles and covered her shoulders, though it had short sleeves that left her arms bare. Her face rivaled even Julia’s and Lynn’s, with delicate and feminine features framing kindly and curious eyes.

She didn’t miss a beat as she gazed at us with a warm grin, greeting us with interest and a slight accent:

“Well, hello there! May I ask who these young ones are?”

Goran moved to introduce us:

“These are young people who came to these mountains from a remote land. They are children of Men, of course, and I have offered them shelter for a time, until they can make a safer trip through the mountains. Perhaps 3 months. Travelers, meet Philorena Mira, wife of Hagor Mira, and one of my great friends.”

She gave a ladylike curtsy as we introduced ourselves by name, Al going so far as to kiss her hand, which she apparently found amusing, before inviting us inside.

The home was inviting and calm, darker furniture contrasting with light grey walls, all lit by soft white-orange lights like the ones that we had seen on poles on the main street. The wood tables and cabinets were the same brown of the forest that we had passed through on our way here, while the sofas and some of the chairs were made of a deep navy material. She motioned for us to sit in the living room while she went to prepare some food. Goran left to deposit the carcasses in the family larder.

I watched Hope sink happily into a navy chair, a look of absolute contentment on her face. Julia, Al, and Lynn, who was holding Eithan, took the couch, possessing similar looks of bliss. Ann, Victor, and I took the wooden chairs, but even these were comfortable and smelled faintly of the forest. Mine creaked a little as I sat down and I felt my spine pleasantly decompress as I finally managed to relax.

Philorena came back first with snacks that we dug into. The cheese and cracker plates were of no unusual benefit physically, but they were tasty, and we were grateful for any extra food. Philorena watched us with a smile, but when Victor and I came up for air, we both offered her a gift of our last bit of Domilope jerky. We hadn’t seen any Domilope in these mountains so we figured an exotic gift might be nice. It was meant to be a thanks from us to her for welcoming us in and allowing us to stay.

She tried to refuse, but we made a formidable and persuasive team and eventually she allowed us to bring the jerky to her larder. Victor and I followed the path Goran took, then later came back to Al and Lynn chatting with Philorena about how nice Mahria was. Hope and Julia had begun to snooze in their seats, the comfort of the furniture enough to lull them to sleep. The two socialites kept our host entertained while the rest of us relaxed for a while.

We weren’t like that for long before we heard a knock from the front door. Philorena got up to get it, and soon afterwards laughter and greetings could be heard from the front entrance, along with two loud new male voices:

“And who are these young fellows who have shown up in my home?”

A deep voice boomed good naturedly from the frame of a newcomer who waddled into the room. He was the exact opposite of Goran, short and very fat by the standards of the Maegar, though he would have been slightly above average height and a little chubby compared to the people of Brynn. He was wide, with thick slabs of workman’s muscle on his shoulders and beefy arms that looked like they could shatter boulders with a casual squeeze. His face was that of an older man, like Goran, but it was more grandfatherly and jovial. He sported a large bushy white beard that spread out around his face like a mane, though his hair in the back was cut short. His clothes were a dark brown work tunic and a black apron, both of which were quite sooty.

Behind him stood another male who was very similar in physique to the older man, though a bit taller. He was also clearly much younger and totally clean shaven; however, he still bore a striking resemblance to the older Maegar and wore the same clothes. Both smiled and gazed in curiosity as they came into the room and looked at us, but Goran was the first to respond to the question:

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“Hagor, Magor, these are some wandering strangers, whom I encountered on a hunt. I was hoping to shelter them here for the next few months, until the snow thaws enough for a safe journey through the mountains. Humans, this is Hagor and Magor Mira. Hagor is a lifelong friend of mine, and the best blacksmith in the city. Perhaps the world. Magor is his son, of course.”

“Goran, stop it! You make me sound too important! I’m just a simple laborer at the end of the day.” He chuckled as he said this, but his house was nice enough that this denial edged on false humility.

That aside, Hagor proved both generous and boisterous, welcoming us in with what seemed to be characteristic enthusiasm. Magor was quieter, but I got the sense that he was more considerate. Hagor had woken Julia and Hope with his greeting and had been shushed by his wife. While Hagor sat down and continued the conversation in softer tones, Magor disappeared and returned with a blanket, which he draped over Hope. She was back to sleep in no time after that, and I smiled at him in gratitude, which he returned with a warm nod.

Philorena got up to prepare dinner as Hagor asked us questions about our origins and our circumstances, which we answered in brief to the best of our abilities. Both father and son looked appropriately aggrieved and offered their condolences when we recounted the destruction of Brynn and the difficulties we endured in the aftermath.

“You are resilient people to have made it this far,” Magor commented, speaking for the first time in my hearing. His voice was low and calming, like faraway thunder:

“I admire your courage and your skill. Our village is honored to host such capable guests. Selfishly, I am glad that we might have your aid in these trying times.”

Blushing a bit at the praise, Ann waved her arms a bit at the compliment:

“That’s a kind thing to say, but we’re mostly just luckier than a six-toed Domilope. That, and we relied on our parent’s sacrifices.”

That sent the conversation into a new, grief laden silence. It was mercifully cut short by another knock from the front door, which Magor quickly volunteered to get. He came back with a young Maegar woman around his height, who eyed us with suspicion as she stepped carefully into the living room.

She was a little plain looking, in comparison to her beautiful mother, but she was still rather cute by human standards. Those looks, were marred a bit by a shrewd and suspicious gaze from unusually intelligent eyes. All the Maegar had the same eye color, entirely black but with a red iris. Some, however, had thinner irises than others, giving their eyes an unearthly quality. Most of the Mira family had larger, normal looking irises, making their eyes look very human, with merely unusual colors. This lady, though, had eyes like Goran, with large pupils and thinner irises. It did a lot to make her gaze unnerving, though it came from a young lady who was otherwise human looking besides her slightly-longer-than-usual appendages and her scaly black skin. Hagor took the time to introduce her:

“Children of Men, this is Mina. My daughter, of course. She is training to be a scholar. Her grades are top of her class! That’s why she’s home so late, you know? Extra study in the library after class, of course.”

Hagor beamed proudly as he introduced Mina, who only seemed to get more unfriendly the longer she looked at us. The exuberant father and antagonistic daughter provided such a contrast that I almost couldn’t help a wry smile in response. This only seemed to provoke her, and she fixed her glare more firmly on me specifically, before she finally spoke:

“They will be staying with us as guests, then? Even though we are wealthy by the standards of others, we can’t afford more mouths to feed. Especially while many of our own people go hungry.”

“We will earn our keep.” Ann responded, glaring daggers right back at the new girl.

“You say that, but how can we trust you so easily? Even if you are capable warriors, you could betray us to our enemies.”

“Back home, words like that would have been taken as a challenge. Are you challenging me, girl?”

As Mina opened her mouth to retort, Hagor waved his hands in the air in frustration to cut her off:

“Mina, please, be nice to our guests. Goran has vouched for their character and their ability. I trust his judgement and so should you. Understood?”

She nodded at him, and with one last glare in our direction, went into the kitchen to help her mother put the finishing touches on dinner. Which was ready soon afterward.

Everyone made noises of appreciation when they got to taste Philorena’s cooking. The meat had been seasoned with spices that I had never tasted before and it melted on the tongue like snow in summer, carrying the slightly hot yet deeply savory taste of the meat all throughout my mouth. It was warm and energizing going down, and I could feel it strengthening me as I digested:

“What is this?” Julia said, as she examined the light brown steak in awe:

“In your tongue, it is called Eirblaidd. Goran brought this meat home about two weeks ago, though he has gotten us more recently. It’s some of the best that can be found in these mountains, and I figured we could splurge a bit.”

We thanked her profusely and complimented her cooking, which she mostly waved off with a smile and a laugh. I resolved to contribute some of our own Eirblaidd meat to their larder later, as thanks.

With food like that, and three other warm conversationalists, dinner was the most fun that I had had in weeks. Goran and Mina were the only people at the table who were mostly silent. The rest of us chowed down and talked happily about food and differences in culture between Brynn. Goran, I suspected, was just the strong silent type but Mina appeared to be sulking a bit. Though I couldn’t exactly blame her. Dealing with random strangers who showed up at your house one day wasn’t terribly fun, especially for people who weren’t very social.

After dinner, we were shown to our beds. Victor and Lynn were taken to the guest bedroom, and they brought Eithan along with them. Al and I were sharing a bed in Magor’s room while Julia and Ann were doing the same with Mina. I was nervous about that, especially as the girls looked like they were considering tearing each other’s hair out when we left them. Eventually I just shook my head and left them to it.

The mattress on the bed Al and I shared was white and amazingly soft. I was used to harder mattresses, filled with straw, so when I laid down on this and practically melted into it, I was almost shocked into sleep immediately. As the fugue state of rest slipped over my eyes, I gave a final sigh and slipped away to pleasant dreams.