Carefully, Gideon set down Melissa’s basket in a patch of grass at the edge of the woods. It was now filled with pies, each carefully wrapped in cloth and still warm from the oven. Two days had passed since they’d found Melissa’s gift basket on the way back to the castle. Though the sun was oppressive, a calm wind blew down the mountain, which Gideon was thankful for.
“I can’t believe I went along with this,” Grimsby sighed. “We’re only encouraging her outlaw behavior. When this Melissa person decides to raid the castle’s kitchen or perhaps murder you in your sleep, it will be all your fault.”
“Murder me in my sleep?” Gideon laughed. “I’ll be worried about that the day I get transformed into a pie.”
“It could happen,” Grimsby muttered. “Magic is mysterious.”
“You seemed cooperative enough when I told you this would help Ondine. Having second thoughts?”
Though skeletons couldn’t blush, Gideon thought he detected a hint of embarrassment when Grimsby stammered, “I was trying to be a team player. I hope you won’t regret this, Gideon.”
The previous day, Grimsby had supervised from inside the conservatory while Gideon and Clonk installed the new window. They’d followed Aurora’s instructions to the letter, sealing the new window to the frame of the conservatory’s glazing bars using a putty she had provided. The putty had been made from wispseed oil from her special recipe. After hardening, it held the window in place, producing a perfect seal.
For good measure, Gideon had enchanted the conservatory roof with [Toughness]. The enchantment wouldn’t last forever, but he hoped it would help.
Ondine had been thrilled by the repairs. The only problem was that many of her plants had grown sickly from the sorry state of the conservatory, and they would not recover quickly. Not without help, at least. Which is why Gideon was trying to bribe the druid with more pies. If anyone could help them, it would be Melissa Mossbrook.
“Maybe we’re standing too close,” Gideon said, his eyes scanning the forest. “You might be spooking her.”
“Me?” Grimsby said, shaking his head. “If anything, she’s spooked by the giant suit of armor looming behind us.”
“Don’t bring me into this,” Sir Clonk said. “I only came because Gideon promised to oil me.”
“I just didn’t want the spiders to bother us,” Gideon explained.
“Anyway, she should be scared,” Grimsby said. “She’s a criminal.” He stared into the darkness of the forest. “Watch your back, Miss Mossbrook.”
“Don’t worry, it’s a gift,” Gideon called out toward the trees. After a moment, he took an envelope from the pocket of his robes. Gideon had written a short letter inviting the druid to join them at the castle for tea and dessert, which he now placed in the basket. He had been hoping they could talk in person, but it was starting to seem less likely.
For all Gideon knew, Melissa was watching them from within the forest cover, waiting for the right moment to show herself.
Of course, it was also possible the druid was nowhere near, and the pies would be eaten by other random wildlife before Melissa could find them. Gideon sighed. It was impossible to know.
Or was it?
Kneeling on the ground, Gideon prepared to try and cast [Geosense]. He’d started reading more of Digging Deeper: The Mirthful Mole’s Guide to Earth Magic after getting bored of the exercises in the [Appraise] skill book and wanting some variety.
After reading Digging Deeper, he realized that [Geosense] was somewhat similar to what he’d already been doing when trying to target his [Quake] in specific areas. To determine where to root out the Blight Tunnelers, he had allowed his mana to flow through the earth, extending his perception beneath the ground.
[Geosense] was a more rigorous approach to the same basic idea. The more Gideon thought about it, the more he wondered if his targeted [Quake] was an application of his Spiritweft skill. However, he still hadn’t received any notifications that his Spiritweft had improved.
There were probably better ways to train it, but Kelvan hadn’t seemed too worried. According to his Uncle, Gideon was making perfectly acceptable progress. Kelvan had also balked at Gideon trying to learn vitamancy early. According to him, a wizard shouldn’t try to learn a second school of magic until their first was Gold rank or higher.
This had only inspired Gideon to work even harder at his geomancy. He removed his staff from its case, placed the crystal against the earth, and channeled his mana through it and into the ground. He didn’t send any of his mana deep this time, instead allowing it to stretch across the top layer of the soil, pouring underneath the forest.
In the book, [Geosense] had tips about extending one’s perception even further while using minimal amounts of mana, stretching one’s awareness as thin as possible while still being capable of detecting any living beings. The idea was to shape one’s mana like a loosely woven patchwork quilt rather than a solid surface.
However, he had no idea how [Geosense] might clash against the druid’s natural stealth. As he stretched his perception deeper into the forest, he thought he detected a place where his mana felt heavier and reality more substantial.
“Hello?” he called out in that general direction.
The only sound was the wind and Clonk tapping his foot impatiently behind them.
“Well, I guess we’ll be leaving,” Gideon said loudly, then rose to his feet and stepped backward, away from the basket. He was hoping the druid would choose this moment to appear. He focused his [Geosense] on where he thought he’d found something, but it felt the same as everywhere else this time.
Had she run away? Or had it only been his imagination in the first place?
With a sigh, Gideon turned away from the woods. “Let’s go,” he said.
Gideon wondered if he should have waited until he returned from Prospera to try and make contact. But he would be gone for a week and hadn’t wanted to waste time.
He had to admit he was a little worried about leaving things to Grimsby and Clonk while he was gone. He wasn’t sure how they’d handle the druid, especially if she were just a child like she sounded.
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With one last look at the basket, Gideon turned, and the three of them headed up the trail back to the castle. Thankfully, though Gideon was still worried whenever they passed the holes in the mountain, the spiders never bothered them when Clonk was around.
A few times on their way back to the castle, Gideon had a strange feeling like they were being watched. But he was probably imagining things.
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That night, Gideon laundered his clothes and took a cold bath before heading to bed early. His things were packed and sitting by the door to his room. But rather than the restful sleep he had been hoping for, he laid in bed while his mind raced.
After a while, he gave up and began to read, first the [Appraise] skill book and then Digging Deeper. But though he usually enjoyed nothing more than a good book, his mind couldn’t seem to focus tonight.
Sighing, he got out of bed and walked down the hallway. He descended the staircase and walked out into the courtyard, closing the front door of the keep gently behind him.
No one else could be seen. The gate door, still sitting crooked, hung open, but he realized he had never seen any wildlife try to enter the gate. It was almost like something else—some unknown force or presence—repelled them.
At the edge of the courtyard, the pool of the hot springs released a trail of steam into the air. After taking only cold baths for days, he felt tempted. And no one else was around anyway, so why not?
He left his robes on a nearby rock but kept his underwear on just in case, and carefully dipped a toe into the water. It was hot, but not too much. He realized the inside of the hot springs was formed of many stones stacked at different heights. He found a shallow spot and slowly lowered himself until he was sitting in the water.
A relaxing heat flowed through him. The water had a slightly sulfurous aroma, but he didn’t mind. If anything, it made the experience more authentic. The water must have collected precious minerals as it rose from the earth deep within the mountain.
Gideon stretched his neck and shoulders, rolling his head left and right, feeling his muscles release a tension he didn’t even know they’d been holding.
“Damn,” he whispered. “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
In truth, he would have been embarrassed soaking in front of Grimsby or Clonk, for instance, and he had thought the hot spring looked uninviting with the rotten shack next to it. But at night, by himself, it felt like heaven.
He would have to fix the shack before they opened to more guests. He’d noticed some rusted pipes next to it—perhaps there had been a place to shower off, and a changing area.
After thinking about it, he wondered if he could use geomancy to build a new structure. Rather than a shack made from wood, what about a hut made from stone or clay? That would be more durable in the long run. He would need to learn and practice the [Shape Earth] spell, but it seemed doable.
There was a spa in Prospera with magically-powered hot tubs, but they charged a lot of money, and Gideon had never been able to justify the expense on his meager salary. He remembered bathing in the stream near their village as a child when both his parents had been alive and together. Playing in the water, splashing it, watching how it shimmered under the sun—those days had been some of the best of his childhood. Back then, he’d dreamed of learning hydromancy one day. He still wanted to eventually, though it was a lower priority these days.
In truth, he wanted to learn everything, which made it hard to choose.
After soaking in the warmth of the mountain spring for fifteen minutes or so, he felt relaxed and drowsy. It was time to dry off and head to bed.
As he was about to climb out of the water, he saw a rectangular shadow float up from behind him, blocking the light of Celestra's moon.
“Good evening, Nephew!” Kelvan said.
Gideon was happy he had kept his underwear on. "Uh, hi."
“I was surprised to sense you out here. Ready for your trip to the city of serpents?”
Gideon smiled. “I was having trouble sleeping. I thought this might help.”
Kelvan floated next to the pool, and the mirror's surface began to steam up. “Ah,” he said. “It is quite peaceful. I used to come out here often before the, you know…”
“It is. This is my first time out here.”
“Going to make this one of the inn’s attractions, Nephew? It certainly used to be.”
Gideon raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize you had decided to approve that venture.”
The old man shrugged. “It’s not a bad idea. I was worried, at first, that if we opened up the castle, it would only attract the wrong type of attention, such as people who wished to break into my vaults or steal the long-forgotten secrets of the mountain. But all my enemies are dead, and I should hardly be so worried about such possibilities that I smother your youthful enthusiasm. On top of it, we do need a better, more consistent way to make money.”
Gideon smiled. “I’m glad you approve. I’ll do my best to make The Last Rest a successful venture.”
For the first time since Gideon had met him, Kelvan’s face was one of surprise. “I didn’t think you had a name yet.”
“I’ve been mulling it over. There were a lot of options. But I keep coming back to that one.”
“It’s a bit grim, though, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t think you would have a problem with grim,” Gideon said, laughing.
Kelvan’s red eyes shone bright, and he laughed too. “I just thought you’d want the place to sound appealing. For marketing purposes.”
“Ah,” Gideon said. “That’s why I like the name. You can interpret it however you’d like. It’s not a complete thought, is it? Depending on your perspective, it can be grim or relaxing. It’s not Your Last Rest. Just The Last Rest. It’s the last rest before you’re deep in the Frostpeak Mountains. The last rest before a thousand miles of the hinterlands and untamed wilds before you. It’s the last rest before you embark on a great challenge or a grand adventure.”
As Gideon spoke, he had grown more animated, and by the end, his hands were gesturing wildly.
“You’ve given this some thought,” Kelvan said, stroking his beard. “It has its charm. What were your other choices?”
“Rattlebandit Inn was out right away, of course. Clonk had an idea that wasn’t half bad, but I didn’t want the inn to be named after one of its inhabitants. I wanted it to represent everyone, yet something greater as well.”
“Hmm,” Kelvan said. “I will be sad to no longer call it Castle Kastorus. But I don’t disapprove.”
“Oh, that’s another thing,” Gideon said. “I thought we might want the signs to say, ‘The Last Rest at Castle Kastorus.’ The inn doesn’t need the same name as the castle. Not necessarily.”
Kelvan smiled. “Hmm. You’ve surprised me, Nephew.”
Gideon shrugged. “I still want to run it past the others. I’m pretty sure Grimsby will hate it.”
“He hates many things, so I wouldn’t take it personally.” Kelvan looked to the side, and the mirror's perspective shifted to show a large grandfather clock. “It’s getting late. You’re sure you don’t need to sleep?”
“I will,” Gideon said, climbing out of the water and shaking himself off. “I suppose I’m still worried about going back there, even if I’d like to pretend I’m not.”
Kelvan floated towards Gideon and shook his head. “It’s times like these I need Grimsby here to give you a pat on the shoulder, Nephew,” he said. “Listen, if any of those Birdmountain chuckleheads give you a hard time, you tell them you gained two levels—almost three, I’d wager—in a week. My apprentice will eclipse them all, eventually.”
Gideon smiled. “Thanks, Uncle, but I’m not worried about that.” He looked around the courtyard, realizing he had not brought a towel. He pulled on his robes, hoping the thick fabric would help him dry off. “Part of me still feels like this place is a dream. When I leave, will I be able to come back? Can my old life really be escaped so easily?”
“You’d better come back. If you don’t, I’ll have to fire you.”
“You haven’t been paying me anything, so that’s not much of a threat.”
“Lies,” Kelvan said. “I’ve been paying you in knowledge and Grimsby’s cooking, which are far more valuable than any monetary compensation.”
Gideon smiled. “I see your point.”
“You’d better return soon, by the way, so don’t dawdle. We still need to deal with the spiders. I had hoped to have that handled before you left, but I suppose it can’t be helped.” He sighed. “Grimsby’s fall derailed us. I’ll have to punish him.”
“If you really want to punish him, ask him to bake more pies for the druid.”
Kelvan cackled. “Truly diabolical.”
Gideon stretched his arms, yawned, and began heading towards the door. “I suppose I’d better go to bed.”
“Good night,” Kelvan said, floating up toward the castle's balcony. As he departed, Gideon could barely make out his Uncle talking to himself. “The Last Rest. Hmm. I suppose it’s got some charm to it…”
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