Around noon on the third day of their being in Misery, Amadeo is working in the fields alongside a few farmhands. As he kneels to pluck a ripe potato, Anna approaches and waves her arms. "Amadeo! We've got visitors!"

Looking up, he wipes his brow of sweat as two half elves approach behind her. The male of the pair is tall, his shoulders broad and strong from years of hard labor. Short blonde hair accompanies bright blue eyes as the man holds a hand up in greeting. The leaner female beside him, nearly a head shorter than her companion, peers out from under red bangs with a slight undercut, her brown hues focusing on the human with a soft smile. Each of them wears a traveling cloak and has rather longer ears than a standard half elf, with the man in simple brown commoner's clothes and the woman dressed in red and blue robes, her arms and legs exposed to show the hidden muscle of her lithe figure.

"Deo!" The man calls out, his gentle voice not matching the strong exterior he presents as Amadeo walks up. Their hands clasp together, the wizard beaming at the taller man. "Rhys! It's good to see you again, my friend." His eyes cross the gap to the woman, and he sweeps her up in a tight hug. "You've grown up, Valora!"

The woman chuckles, returning the embrace with a bit more strength than the wizard can muster before stepping back. "Aye, I can say the same about you. You finally grew a mop. And from what your mother tells us, you're a weaver now?"

"Aye, somewhat." His eyes catch the wagon closer to the house. "You mentioned bringing family?"

"My wife Ingrid and our daughter Melody." Rhys responds. "They're already inside. Apparently, that halfling friend of yours is great with children."

"One of a number of skills he sometimes displays when you think you haven't been surprised by him enough." Amadeo chuckles, stretching his arms out. "What about you, Valora?"

"Ah, none for me. It's a complicated story I'll shorten to just 'my man left me'." Valora folds her arms, and Amadeo pats her head. "Very well. Let's go in. There's little else to be done out here anyway."

As they walk into the house, Tyrion has a pink devilkin baby in his arms, letting her hold his finger with a grin and a soft coo. "Ah, you're a strong one, aren't you, Melody? You're gonna grow up to be a big tough carpenter like your dad, eh?" Melody giggles and tugs on the halfling's finger as her lavender colored mother watches with silent amusement.

Amadeo chuckles. "Will wonders never cease? I didn't think you had the stomach for children."

"I deal with you three every day just fine." The halfling smirks, and Hope snorts her water from a corner of the room.

Tyrion shrugs and sits back. "It was a talent I discovered in my youth along with a penchant for scaling walls and fences. Kids just like me for some reason, I guess."

"Well, it's impressive to say the least." The wizard looks over to the child's mother. "You must be Ingrid. I'm Amadeo Ravenwood."

The lavender devilkin turns and nods her head, looking back to the baby who is now poking at Tyrion's face with great curiosity. Amadeo faces Rhys. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, she's just mute, and more than a little shy. If she didn't like you, you'd know." Rhys adjusts his cloak, waving to get Ingrid's attention and gesturing with his hands. She smiles, turning to Amadeo and gesturing to him in turn.

"What did you just tell her?" Amadeo raises an eyebrow at the unknown movement.

"She just said hello...About our father. Does he still live in the same house?"

"Yeah. All by himself from what I can tell."

Valora huffs. "It's his own fault. Mother left because he was scum-"

"Valora, he's still our father!" Rhys retorts, and Valora shakes her head.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Valora huffs, jabbing a finger into her brother's chest."I'll go just to humor you, brother. But I have no intention of making up with him."

"I think you might change your mind when you meet him." Amadeo claps a hand on each of the siblings' shoulders. "We'll go now. It's best to just rip the bandage off."

Valora clenches her fist for a moment before relaxing her muscles. "Fine. But if he's still the same fargoso from before we left, I'm punching him square in the face."

"Deal." Amadeo steps outside, throwing his robe on to cover his bare chest. "Let's see what we can make of this meeting."

****************************************

"He's added on." Rhys folds his arms and looks over the front of the house. The old gate now rusted and left open. The walls of the home steadily being covered with creeping vines. The yard where they used to water their mother's plants and watch them grow day by day, now overgrown with weeds.

"I told you he did." Amadeo steps up and knocks on the door with the bat shaped knocker.

There's a long silence before the door creaks open, no one there to have opened it. "Yeah, not creepy at all, Pops." Valora steps in first, tugging her brother in behind her, and Amadeo follows after.

The interior is barely lit, save for candles in sconces along the walls, the cobwebs indicating them only recently having been lit. Like before, the door to the office is open, but as they go to approach it, Valora stops by the door. Her eyes shift about, ears twitching. In a flash, she flings two sharpened needles up toward the stairs with great speed. There's a spurt of blood from above the spherical ornament at the top of the banister as a creature seems to shimmer appearing out of thin air. The first needle pierces its stomach, and the second hits it in the eye before it can react. The creature then vanishes in a flash of fire.

"Th-the Hells was th-that?" Rhys stammers out, Valora arming another needle between her fingers.

"I dunno." Amadeo releases the energy of the firebolt he readied, looking into the office. He folds his arms and steps inside. "Care to explain, Mister Ondra?"

Inside the office, Nelos Ondra sits calmly, hands laying on the arms of his chair. Rhys follows after Amadeo, and Valor after Rhys. A second needle slots into place between her knuckles, though Amadeo holds a hand out to keep her from acting.

Ondra looks over the two additional faces, his face remaining cold and distant. "Rhys...Valora." His voice is calm, careful not to betray whatever thoughts he may be having.

"Father." Rhys speaks evenly, though his lip quivers. He's always been the emotional one, quick to act based on the feelings in his heart.

Comparatively, Valora says nothing, fists clenched tight around the needles between her fingers. Logic and experience dictates that she maintain vigilance, as one invisible watcher may be followed by a dozen more. Further, her father's flat faced expression says one thing, but her ears pick up the rapid beat of the drum that is his heart. It sends a slight pang through her even as she glares daggers, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Ondra's eyes cross the siblings' forms slowly, examining every detail. Rhys was so small once. Now he is larger than even his own father, tall and strong like a tower of stone. Valora, once a chubby little girl with hope in her eyes, now stands lean and mean, a burning desire in her eyes that he guesses is very much not hope. Not to mention the tattoo he notices curling up her left arm, shaped somewhat like a coiling snake.

Nobody moves or speaks for nearly thirty seconds before Ondra sits back. "You killed my familiar."

"It was invisible and I don't like being watched." Valora's voice is harsh, her eyes narrowing.

"He was sulking." Ondra corrects her, and the young woman clenches her teeth before Amadeo steps between them. Ondra holds up a finger. "For the record, I'm not angry about it. He's an annoyance. A necessary annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless."

"More importantly-" Amadeo interrupts, lowering his arm. "-I did as you asked. I can't guarantee a happy ending for all parties involved, but here they are."

"Yes. You've held up your end..." Ondra unlocks a drawer and retrieves from it a leatherbound book, the cover torn and scratched, some of the pages even lightly singed here and there. "Now I will hold up mine. The contents of this journal will tell you more than you'll have ever wanted to know about the spirit of Mercy Warren."

"So you do believe in her after all." Amadeo tries not to grit his teeth at the realization that he's been played.

Ondra nods his head. "I've known for a while now. You're lucky Unduriel found this. I was going to use it as blackmail material."

"Blackmail?" Amadeo asks, taking the journal when Ondra holds it out to him.

"Read it yourself. Just don't say I didn't warn you. It's not a happy story."

"What about us?" Rhys asks, stepping forward with a concerned look across his face.

Amadeo grasps his shoulder. "You'll be fine. Just take it slow, don't storm off-" His eyes turn to Valora, who huffs. "-And be willing to try to understand. There's alot of pain here, I'd wager. But underneath it all, I think you can manage well enough...I'll leave you three to your day."

With that, Amadeo steps outside the room, closing the door to the office behind him. He waits a few seconds and, upon hearing no sudden cries of pain or outrage, exits the house quickly with the journal in hand.

Through the fog he walks, barely registering the steadily dropping temperature that follows him, nor the figure eyeing him from just outside his vision.