“Are you ready to go?” Alex asked, entering a small room in the Research Castle.

Bjorgrund and Birger were fastening their cloaks as the late morning sun over Greymoor beamed through the window. The two giants looked up at him, surprised.

“Alex!” Bjorgrund cried. “That was the longest we've been apart in months! Did you miss me?”

The smiling wizard shrugged. “I missed our sparring matches, but I guess one day without you nearly cutting my head off was kinda nice.”

“Hah!” the young giant laughed.

Alex sized up the pair of beds in the sleeping chamber: a room meant for visitors to Greymoor. “Did you both sleep well? Were those beds comfortable enough, they look a little small?”

“They were fine once we shrunk so we could fit into them,” Birger said. “I slept the sleep of the dead.”

“Me too,” Bjorgrund agreed.

“It doesn't really hit you how long you've been up when there’s so much going on until it's all over. Then the ‘tiredness’ comes down on you all at once.” The older giant picked up his crutch then got to his feet. “I'm glad the wizards put us up for the night. By the time we got here, I was completely exhausted. Theresa arranging with them for this room for us was a lifesaver, otherwise I would have nodded off right where I was standing.”

“Good, I'm glad you got a chance to rest up, and you didn’t have to do it standing like a horse, ” Alex said. “So, you ready to head home?”

“Uh…” Bjorgrund paused. “I’d rather stay…but…”

“We've been away from our cottage for months,” Birger said. “We have to look in on it.”

“Yeah, what father said,” Bjorgrund grunted.

“If there's been any damage, I'll help you fix it,” Alex said quickly.

“I’d normally say no, but since you can summon an army of earth elementals…I’ll gladly take the help,” Birger replied. “And speaking of armies, has anyone made any progress with finding the you know what?”

Alex shook his head. “I talked to Watcher Hill earlier and she said she's organising something with the king. Some of our teams’ll also be working with priests that Tobias Jay trusts and they’ll be going around from place to place sensing for areas where divine energy might be coming from. Hopefully, they’ll find the missing chair, the body, and the Ravener.”

“Can you make a device that can find divinity? You’re good with that stuff.” Bjorgrund said.

Alex shrugged. “Maybe? There's a lot to talk about, and think about, and organise. After I get back from taking you home, I'm gonna talk to my cabalmates, then the Heroes and Asmaldestre. We’re making our plan as we go along.”

Birger clicked his tongue in thought. “I thought something would have happened by now. Like the ground exploding and endless monsters pouring out of it and running wild through Thameland.”

“We've been wondering the same thing.” Alex looked out of the window at snow melting on the hills of Greymoor. “The problem is that it has to make the first move. Maybe it's planning, maybe it's paralysed from what it's learned. We won't know unless we find it, or it strikes us.”

“Feels like a blade’s hanging over our heads,” Bjorgrund said. “I just wanted you to know…” He paused. “Never mind.”

“No, what's up?” Alex asked.

The younger giant shook his head. “No, we'll talk about it after we see what home looks like.”

“Alright, then I guess we should get going,” Alex said. “Stay by my side.”

The wizard touched Bjorgrund and Birger’s shoulders, channelling his power and teleporting to Kymiland in one single jump. The same trip would have taken him more than a dozen—if not more than twenty jumps—to reach the frozen forest at one time.

Now he could do it in a single one.

Easily.

‘Now, that’s some progress,’ he thought proudly.

One moment they were standing in Greymoor’s Research Castle, the next, the cold wind of the late Kymiland winter was whipping their cloaks around them. Pine trees were swaying, the sky was grey, and snow blanketing the frozen ground around the cottage looked fresh and undisturbed.

“Home,” Birger said. “Been a long time since we’ve seen it,” the giant nodded, looking relieved.

“That’s true, father,” Bjorgrund said.

The giants’ cottage looked much the same—apart from more snow piled up on the roof—as the last time Alex had seen it.

“I'm actually kind of surprised,” the young wizard said, looking at the stone cottage carefully. “I sort of expected the door to be kicked in.”

“I've warded this place against the rune-marked.” Birger hobbled toward the front door. “And I don't expect anyone from the village would have been coming here, not after the fright you gave them.”

“Right,” Bjorgrund said. “But just in case…”

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He peered through the window, checking the space. “Doesn't look like anyone's been inside. The glass isn’t broken, everything looks quiet inside, and it doesn’t look like anything’s been moved in there.”

Birger abruptly flung the door open, looking to surprise anyone hiding inside. He sniffed the air. “Ugh, smells musty. I’ll have to be doing a little cleaning and airing the place out. At least our last fire didn't burn the place down, I couldn't remember if we’d put it out before we left.”

Alex stepped in behind the two giants. “Truthfully, I was more concerned that the church would've broken in here and torn everything apart, looking for us.”

“Same here,” Bjorgrund said.

“Actually…” Alex paused. “You know what, they probably left this place alone as a trap. I’d bet you a couple of handfuls of coin that they had people spying on your cottage from the forest, waiting to see if we’d come back. It’s too late to check for tracks since they’d be long gone by now…or maybe not. Give me a second.”

Alex teleported away, disappearing and reappearing among the trees bordering the clearing where the cottage stood. He found nothing suspicious, but he wanted to make sure.

He summoned an astral engeli to check around the trees.

That yielded something.

Alex dismissed the summons, excitedly teleporting back to the cottage.

“I can confirm it,” he reappeared in the cottage, startling the giants as they unpacked their gear. “Oh, sorry about that,” he apologised.

“No harm done,” the young giant said. “What can you confirm?”

“The church was here,” the wizard explained. “I summoned an astral engeli and he found traces of divinity in the woods about a hundred yards or so behind the cottage. Seems they were watching for us: they must've left when that fae—” He paused. There was no reason to avoid using the dead fae’s name any longer. Grimloch’s stomach contents were probably scary at most times, but not in the same way the living fae had been. “—that Guide ‘found’ us. Some of them were probably left here to watch for us, and if we came back, the rest would come back, surprise us and then kill us.”

“Bastards,” Birger said. “Well, I’m glad our home wasn’t destroyed by them. All in all, things turned out alright in the end.”

“Yeah…” Bjorgrund agreed, his voice dropping low. “It’s going to feel strange, though, isn't it, father? Back in our little cottage, worried about rune-marked, worried about our so-called family. No more travelling, no more adventure.”

Birger snorted. “I had centuries of adventure before I settled here, son. Trust me, that life is way too glorified. Besides, we're going to be helping Alex with the Ravener.” He looked at the young wizard. “Are you sure you'll be alright teleporting between here and Thameland, bringing us there and back all the time?”

“I don't think we should be doing that,” Bjorgrund said. “I think we should be staying in Greymoor, ready to help whenever it's needed. I don't want to have to rely on Alex every day.”

“It's not a problem,” Alex said. “It'll literally take me thirty seconds to come and get you and bring you to wherever you’re needed in Thameland.”

“That power of yours is hard to believe,” Birger shook his head. “I think you use it even better than Kelda could. Or maybe not, I’m not sure and I don’t want to take anything away from her. I don't know enough about it, I suppose.”

“Still,” Bjorgrund continued. “I wish we could just stay in Thameland.”

“We've been away from home long enough, son,” Birger said.

The young giant looked at him. “But father, is this really home?”

“It always has been.”

“Truly?” Bjorgrund asked him. “We live near people that hate us, surrounded by other monsters and an Empire that wants us all dead… We have no friends, no real family, except for each other.”

“And am I not enough?” Birger asked.

“Father, we can't just run from everyone and stay here in this cabin.” Bjorgrund insisted. “We’ve made friends, we've been around good people. Can we really go back to living here all by ourselves?” The giant looked at the snowy forest through the window. “It's a bit lonely, isn't it?”

Birger opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He sighed. “I suppose, I forget what it's like to be young. To want to explore the world for yourself, to find companions, to find a partner…” He looked through the window then. “Those things would be impossible here, I suppose.” He said, sighing again.

“Well, if you're lonely.” Alex cleared his throat. “You're always welcome in Generasi. We could find a place for you, you could work for one of my businesses, and I'd make sure you were comfortable.”

Birger smiled sadly. “I appreciate that, but it’d be too warm for me there. And, there's a lot in this house that I wouldn't be able to let go of, not yet, at least. A country like Thameland might be better, but when it’s at war and under attack isn’t really the best time for moving there.”

“What about after?”

“Hm?” Birger said.

“What about after the war?” Alex asked him. “What are you going to do, then? I mean, I know it's not my business, but I think Bjorgrund has some good points. It’s not making me feel real good thinking about you two up here all by yourselves, especially with your nasty, dangerous relatives nearby. After all you've done for us, it almost feels like I’d be abandoning you.”

“I wouldn't want to stay here forever,” Bjorgrund said. He scowled. “Alex, you taught me that I don't have to be what others make me out to be. Our family thinks I'm some kind of monster, so, what kind of family is that? I don't wanna live my life hiding in the woods around people who think of me as some beast.”

“You'll have me,” the old giant said. Then he paused. “But you won't always have me…” He slowly looked around the cottage. “It wouldn’t feel right to keep you here, caring for a sick old man when I get older. You've got your own life to live—I lived my share and then some—and trapping you here with others that hate you, isn’t right.” The old giant frowned. “But where would we go? We can't stay here…but, I don't think we could take city life either.”

“No way.” Bjorgrund shook his head. “I like the forest. I like having trees overhead, and the open sky above that. I like hunting, chopping wood, and listening to the birds singing. I just don't like doing it near folk that hate and fear me.”

An idea sparked in Alex's mind. “Why don't you live near my hometown, then?”

“Hm?” Bjorgrund looked at Alex sharply. “Actually, your city is a little hot for me too—”

“No, no, not Generasi, I mean where I was born,” the young archwizard continued. “I come from a small town called Alric, and it's a nice, quiet, safe pla—” He paused. “—well, right now, it's fortified against Ravener-spawn attacks, but when the war is over, it'll be a nice, quiet, safe place. And just near there, is a forest called Coille. Theresa used to hunt there all the time when we were younger. It's got plenty of game animals, the weather’s cool, but the winters aren't too harsh. You'll be able to live in the forest, but you'd be near people that wouldn't hate and fear you: folks from Alric don’t really fear others unless they're trying to eat or kill them. You'll be able to live your lives there in peace, and you'll be safe.”

Birger and Bjorgrund looked at each other.

“Plus,” Alex continued. “The Cave of the Traveller’s right in that forest, which could let you, Bjorgrund, travel to wherever you wanted to.”

“Interesting…” Birger said. “Very interesting and Thameland’s where our ancestors were from. That’s something for us to think on.”

“I want to see this forest, father,” Bjorgrund said.

“I'd like to, as well,” Birger said. “Something to keep in mind for after the war. We can talk about it, especially after the war, and after we find Uldar’s corpse, throne and that Ravener he made.”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “And I'm going to make sure we all get back home alive to enjoy our lives afterward. Anyway, I’d better get going. I have a lot to talk about with my cabal: there's things we need to get figured out before the Ravener makes its next move.”