Missteps V.2

Chapter 57 – Altered

"Are we ready?" Lia stood with her back to both Jun and Iados. The others nodded, their weapons out.

Iados looked at the elf. "Remember, we'll keep the suits off of you, you just get a peek into the room and see if Kerri's still alive."

Lia nodded. She looked down at her hand. The green tendril that connected her to her staff began to disappear. As it did, the vines that surrounded and protected them from their foes outside turned brown and withered into dust. Through the haze, they could see the two suits of armor.

As soon as the door was clear, Lia ran towards it. She used her staff to punch through the already damaged section. Behind her, she could hear the scrape of metal as the fighting commenced. It didn't take long for her to break through the thin bit of wood. She stood on her tiptoes and looked in. On the other side, she saw Kerri within the woman's grasp. She heard Kerri gasp, and her lithe form go limp in the chair.

"Get away from her!" Lia yelled as she pounded on the door.

The red-haired woman turned to look at her. She stepped away from the slumped figure and towards the window. With a smirk, the woman sat down and drank deeply from a teacup.

"How's it look?" Jun yelled as he dodged a hit from the suit. The regular suits weren't of the same caliber as the Red Knight had been, so he managed to get a lot more hits of his own in.

Lia spared a glance at him. "She's alive!" The elf stepped back and began to kick the door. "We need to hurry!"

Jun gritted his teeth. On his next attack, he swung his hammer heavily into the suit. The torso section caved in, and the armor fell back listless. After the armor didn't get back up, he turned and helped Iados. One swing was all it took to fell the last one. Both men hurried over to the door. Jun handed his weapon over to Iados. The berserker braced himself, and threw his full weight on the double-doors. The doors swung open and Jun sprawled onto the floor. Lia and Iados followed after.

The woman at the table set down her cup. "You made quick work of my armor. Fastest by far."

Iados leveled his quarterstaff at her. "Who are you?" Next to him, Lia rushed to Kerri's side.

The woman flicked her eyes over to the elf. "You needn't worry, she's only asleep. She got some bad news."

"What kind of news?" Jun asked as he got to his feet and took his warhammer back.

The woman didn't answer. She stood up and walked towards them. She raised her hand and there was a spark of bluish energy. Immediately Jun and Iados felt their muscles tense and harden. Within moments, the only thing the two of them could move was their eyes.

Lia's mouth dropped in horror. "What did you do to them?"

"I don't deal with men if I can help it." The woman settled on the table in front of the elf and crossed her legs. "Now tell me, why have you and your friends here invaded my home? Does it have anything to do with that grotesque thing around your neck?"

Lia's hand shot up to the handprint. She nodded. "We were sent by the Rabble Lord to get some items. If we don't get all of them, then this mark will kill me."

The woman sighed heavily, her red hair falling into her face. "Let me guess, it's the same old family tree, helmet, and tiara routine?" Lia nodded. "I do not understand that man's insistence on the tiara. The tree and helmet I get, but not the tiara."

"Do you have the tiara?" Lia asked.

The woman smirked. "Of course I have it. The whole reason I made a deal with that stupid king was to get it. Tell me, what would you be willing to trade for it?" The woman reached into a pocket and pulled out the silver disk from before. She held it up in front of Lia.

Lia gulped. She stood up. "What do you want for it?"

It took several moments for the woman to answer. Her gaze kept switching between the disk and the elf. Finally, she put the disk away. "I can't trade for the tiara, but I can get rid of that disgusting print around your neck."

"What would it cost me?" She glanced down at the sleeping form of Kerri.

The woman brought a pale hand up and tapped her chin. "For this, let's say a memory. It would be of my choosing of course."

Lia's eyebrows knitted together. "Why would you want one of my memories?"

"You'd be surprised how much certain other parties would be willing to pay for choice memories." Her eyes sparkled. "What do you say? If you agree, I'll even let you and your friends leave with all the trinkets you've acquired. Do we have a deal?" She extended out her hand.

Lia looked over at the two frozen men. She could see their eyes move in panic. She took a deep breath. "I've lived for over a hundred years, what's one little memory." Lia shook her hand. When she did, there was a small pinch, and when Lia looked at her hand, there was a small, dark five-pointed star in the middle of her palm.

The woman hopped off the table. "Come with me my dear and we'll finish this up." With one hand on the small of her back, the woman directed Lia out of the dining room and back towards the staircase. They went halfway down the stairs. The woman paused before the empty wall. She traced a symbol on the surface, and a door shimmered into view. They went through the door.

On the other side was a plush circular room. Shelves covered every square inch, with different sized compartments that were covered with panes of glasses. Books on pedestals, jewelry, scrolls, artwork, even clothing was displayed. In the center of the room was a multi-leveled crystal display, and in the very center on a satin pillow was a tiara.

The tiara was made out of polished silver with golden accents on the delicate wavy designs. In the middle sat eight precious stones; seven smaller stones surrounded a large sapphire.

Lia's jaw dropped from the beauty of not only the tiara, but the room itself. She gestured to the middle display. "Is that it?"

The woman smiled sweetly and nodded. She pulled Lia closer to it. "This tiara belonged to the first queen and monarch of Marblebrooke. It was under her guidance that the disparate baronies and nobility that fought over the land were finally united. It was not an easy feat for her, not only because she herself was not a fighter, but also because she refused to take a husband. She was adamant that she would not allow a man to take away her power and what she had built." The woman's eyes narrowed. "After she died, a woman never took the throne again. Though there were other queens who wore the tiara, they were never allowed to rise to prominence above their husbands. This beautiful sign of grace and power, was used as a way to ridicule the first queen's memory."

"That's awful." Lia turned her gaze to the other items held behind the glass cases. "Does everything in here have a story like that?"

The woman nodded. She walked around the display and opened a small cabinet at the base. "Most of the items here are things I was tasked to acquire, or was traded to me for favors. A few pieces I picked up because I thought they might be useful." She brought out a small red-wood box. "This is one of those items." The woman beckoned Lia over to the other side of the room, where a small chaise lounge was set up. She gestured for Lia to lay down. She settled herself on a small ottoman nearby. Inside the box were two clear disks nestled over a small vial of green liquid. She placed one of the disks on Lia's forehead, and the other on her own. After she uncorked the liquid, she handed it to Lia. "This potion will make it easier for me to traverse your mind." She explained.

The elf hesitantly took a sip. As soon as the liquid touched her tongue, she felt a cloudiness overcome her mind. Her entire sense of direction was gone, and if she'd been standing up, she would have fallen over. The woman reached over and closed Lia's eyes, before she took hold of her hand.

"Now, what kind of secrets do you have?" At the woman's direction, Lia's mind jumped to the Elder Door Sanctum. She couldn't control the images that floated past of the mission reports, knowledge that would have been lost to time, and their secret connection to Zhagra. The rush of memories stopped on the night she learned of the true organization's existence, the night she was asked to pledge her life to this god she knew nothing about.

"Well, well, and I thought I'd seen it all." The familiar voice chuckled. Lia's disembodied-self looked beside her, and instead of the red-headed female, she saw instead a green-skinned older woman. A pair of gold spectacles were precariously placed on a large bulbous nose as the wispy reddish gray hair sprang out of a thin bun. Lia gasped.

The woman looked over at her. "Ah yes, I should have warned you. In situations like this I'm unable to project my usual visage." She turned her attention back to the group. "I'm disappointed to see that a group like this exists, but it's not what I'm looking for." She held up a hand, and the memories started flashing by again.

Lia was barely able to focus as snippets of her life passed by her. Her past failed relationships, various lessons with her uncle, instances of quiet solitude within her uncle's home. As the memories travelled back into her teenager and child years, she noticed that some of them were tinged with bluish green borders. The woman next to her also took notice. She stopped the flow on one such memory.

It was from when Lia was a teenager. She and her uncle had gone up to their summer house for a weekend getaway. While there, a business associate of her uncle's had visited. He'd brought some chocolates, and after a few hours had left.

With a mottled hand, the woman reached out and peeled the bordered memory away. A second memory was exposed underneath. In this one, the business associate had not arrived with a smile and chocolates, but instead cursed and yelled at her uncle while they had lunch. From inside the house, she watched as the two of them continued to argue. Suddenly, her uncle picked up a knife from the lunch tray, and stabbed the man in the neck.

Both teenage and disembodied Lia screamed.

The woman flicked away to another bordered memory.

In this one, she'd accidentally broken a window while practicing her spells. In the bordered memory, her uncle had given her a light scolding before they cleaned up the glass together, and he continued the lesson. As the green-skinned woman pulled the bordered memory away, Lia's stomach twisted into knots and her pulse quickened. Now, she became the subject of her uncle's rage. He knocked her to the ground and pulled her over the broken glass by her hair. He yelled at her and ignored her cries of pain. He made her clean up the glass by hand as he screamed profanities the whole time.

"No, no this isn't right." Lia could hardly breathe. She took deep breaths as she watched her younger self cry out in pain. "No, he was never like that. He was gentle, kind. He loved me. He was the only one who loved me." She looked at the woman next to her. "What did you do? You said you'd take a memory, not distort them!"

The woman's face was impassive, but her eyes burned. She didn't answer Lia as she flicked through the memories. The more they got into Lia's childhood, practically all of the memories were bordered.

Lia collapsed on her knees. "What is this?" Her voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"This is the dark side of magic." The woman crossed her arms. "Your memories have been altered, but to a degree I've only ever heard of. I almost thought that this magic had been lost for good."

Lia looked up, and saw that the woman was smiling.

She looked down at the elf. "I know which memory I want." The woman flicked through all the memories again, until she found one that was bordered in a solid blue/green color.

This one, was just of Lia as a child, no more than five years old. She sat on a cushion in front of her uncle as he read her a story from the couch.

To remove this one, the woman grunted and struggled, but finally the film gave way to a completely different scene.

Lia was still the same child, but no longer was it a loving scene. Now, Lia sat on a small stool in the middle of a very large runic circle. Himo stood behind her. He held a very large, solid gold ring to the back of her neck as he began to chant.

As the words started, adult Lia winced and grabbed the back of her neck. The whole area burned. She watched as her child-self screamed in pain, but was held in place by Himo's other arm. That same pain grew and grew in intensity on adult Lia, until she was bent double on the ground in pain. Her vision went white. When Lia opened her eyes again, she was back in the tower, on the chaise.

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The woman, who had gone back to her pale skin and full-bodied red haired look, reached out and took the disk from Lia's forehead.

"What was that?" Lia's voice trembled.

The woman patted her arm. "A memory, a real one." The woman stood up with the box and put it back in the cabinet. "The memory I took from you was of the ritual. With it, I can replicate it myself, so thank you."

Lia swung her legs over and stood up. "So, none of my memories are real?"

The woman walked back over. "They were real, just altered. Now that I've taken the memory of the ritual, the magic that altered them will begin to dissipate. Over time you'll have your real memories back. Consider it a gift."

The elf's eyes narrowed as she stood up. "A gift? You just told me that my entire life is a lie! You showed me that my uncle, who was the only one in my life who loved me, who cared for me, who wanted me…beat me." Tears welled up in Lia's eyes. "What do I do now?"

The woman reached into a pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. She used it to dab away the tears from Lia's face. "Now, you live life knowing the truth." She used the now damp handkerchief to wipe away the handprint around her throat. "It's better to live with the ugly truth, than a beautiful lie." She wrapped Lia in a hug. "Take the time to mourn your innocence, but do not wallow in it."

Lia let herself be held. She didn't know what to say.

Finally the woman let her go, and gently pushed her towards the door. "Go and collect your companions from the dining room. There is a door to the southwest tower in that same corner of this floor. It will take you straight to the first floor and you can leave through the stables."

Lia nodded. "Before I do, what's your name?"

The woman smiled. "It's better if you don't know. Now go, and don't let me catch you back here unless you have something worth trading."

Lia left.

She hurried to the dining room. Jun and Iados unfroze as soon as she walked in. They both asked her what had transpired, but Lia didn't say. Jun picked up the still-sleeping bard, and followed Lia as she followed the instructions. They went through the door into the herbalist's tower, and then followed the stairs back to the stables.

Miriam was hard at work when they stumbled in.

The older woman lifted her eyebrow. "You survived, mostly." Her gaze went to Kerri.

"She's alive." Iados looked around. "Have you heard after the others?"

"Yes, they came through not too long ago." She pointed out the doors. "They're waiting for you with the helmet and book." Jun nodded. He readjusted his grip on Kerri and headed out. Iados and Lia bade farewell to Miriam and followed.

Iados was the first one down into the sewer. Jun passed Kerri down before he and Lia followed after. Waiting was the rest of their party.

Maron looked up. "That was quick." He nodded at Kerri. "What happened?"

Iados scowled. "Not sure, but she's only asleep."

"How was the third floor?" Ander asked as they all started the trek back.

"Occupied." Jun told them all of what had transpired. When he got to the end he looked at Lia. "Which memory did she take from you?"

"Just one from my childhood." The elf's lips were pursed. She turned to Elaine. "How'd it go on your end?"

Elaine hung her head. "It would have been fine, if Maron hadn't killed a guard." She pointed to Lia's neck. "How'd you get the mark off?"

Lia brought her hand up to her bare neck. "I made a deal." She looked down at her hand, and saw that the star was gone.

The rest of the way back to the church was pretty quiet. A couple of blocks before the church exit, Maron parted ways with the group.

"I'll go ahead and deliver the helmet and book to the Rabble Lord." He held out his hand towards Carric for the book.

Carric shook his head. "I'm going with you, just to make sure he knows our business is done."

Maron sighed. "Fine, you can come with. Anyone else?" Iados and Ander raised their hands. Maron waved them along and the four of them left.

With Maron in the lead, the group went down a few more passageways before they encountered a large metal door. The former prince removed a key from his pouch, and opened it. They walked through another hallway before Maron opened a second door that led into the same circular stone room that Jun and Kerri had been led to before.

"Wow, that didn't take no time at all." A lanky human male with floppy hair ran over to them as they emerged.

"That's what happens when there's a competent group involved." Maron looked around. "The Rabble Lord around?"

The human grinned. "Oh yeah. Stay here while I go get him." He ran off through one of the doorways.

As the group waited, a human female and an akudaem teenager entered the room with the armored elven female. When the elf left the room without them, Iados called out.

"Hey! Henry! Xiladdic! What are you doing here?" Iados waved his arms. The boy grinned and ran over, followed by Xiladdic at a more sedate pace.

"Iados!" The boy clapped the fellow akudaem in a hug. "We're here on an errand for Jahill, why are you here?"

"Finishing up business with the Rabble Lord." Iados turned to his companions. "Everyone, this is Henry and Xiladdic from the akudaem encampment Lia and I told you about." He turned to Xiladdic, who stopped a few feet away. "Xiladdic, this is part of the group I told you about."

Xiladdic's dark face had turned pale. "It can't be, Ander?"

Ander's jaw had dropped. He reached up and rubbed his eyes. "Xi, are you seriously here?" The girl nodded, tears welling in her eyes. She ran forward and fell to her knees as she and Ander embraced each other.

Iados looked over at Carric with a questioning look, but the half-elf just shrugged.

Ander let go. "How are you here? Where have you been?"

"I've been a little bit of everywhere." The girl wiped the tears off her face. "What are you doing here?"

Iados leaned down. "He's with us. How do you two know each other?"

Ander beamed. "She's my fellow apprentice, we have the same master."

Carric's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Is this the one who you said disappeared?" Ander nodded. The ranger whistled. "Wow, small world."

The halfling turned back to his lost friend. "What happened to you?"

"That is a very long story, best told over a drink."

Across the room the Rabble Lord and his elven henchwoman walked in and approached the group.

The Rabble Lord clapped his hands. "So, you made it back in one piece." His eyes landed on Maron. "Well come on Bryan, show me the goods!"

Maron handed over the helmet in his hand, and then took the book from Carric's grasp and passed it along.

The half-orc thumbed through the book. "Well, you got the right book and the correct helmet, but I'm not seeing a tiara here." He passed the items to the woman next to him.

Iados stepped up. "You didn't tell us that it's in the possession of a powered individual."

"You mean you met her and survived?" The Rabble Lord nodded in appreciation. "She usually doesn't care for men, so you must have made quite the impression." He laughed loudly. "Oh well, I'll get that tiara one day, even if I have to keep wearing her down."

"Does this mean our business is concluded? Is Lia free?" Iados asked.

The Rabble Lord nodded. "That mark on her neck will fade away after another day." He turned to Xiladdic. "Now, I hear that you're here on Jahill's behalf?"

Xiladdic stood up and nodded. "I was sent to collect on a debt your organization owes him. He wants it paid out in a large sum of money."

The Rabble Lord stroked his chin. "And what could a ship-less pirate want with a whole lot of money?"

Xiladdic shrugged. "Why does any pirate want money? He just sent me as his envoy, I'm not his secretary." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a signed letter. "He sent this along just in case you didn't believe me." She handed the letter over.

The half-orc took a moment to scan over the letter's contents. When he got to the end he laughed and cracked a grin. "This is from Jahill alright. I'll get the funds and have them delivered to you first thing in the morning." He folded the letter back up. "Where are you staying?"

"We've lodging at The Nestled Dowry." Xiladdic explained. The lord nodded.

"Alright, I'll have Bryan here meet you there." He motioned for Maron to follow him as he walked away. Maron said his goodbye's to the group, and followed.

Iados turned to look at Xiladdic and Henry. "Well, what do you say we all go get drunk and swap stories?"

The dark-skinned woman laughed. "That sounds like a great idea, but I'm afraid we have somewhere to go right now."

"Where?" Ander asked.

Xiladdic knelt down next to him. "The post office. I have a batch of letters for families back in Esterwill."

Iados grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. "Let me guess, not all of the kids that Peblin took from there were orphans?"

Henry nodded. "Now that we're all getting more established at the fort, once spring comes we're hoping that the parents will relocate."

Iados's arm dropped. "Wait, are you guys giving up on Esterwill?"

The teenager shrugged. "From the news we've gotten, it's more like Esterwill has given up on us."

"It took some convincing, but I finally got Orbris to agree that he's too old to just keeping traveling." Xiladdic smiled. "Even got him to agree to let a few of the older kids organize his library."

"Who's Orbris?" Ander asked.

Xiladdic sighed. "A long story, and the reason why I left." She stood up. "Where are you staying? After we finish our errand, maybe we can all meet up in a room?"

Ander laughed. "Actually, Master sent us the collapsing tower as a gift." The halfling pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hold on, you didn't give that to Elaine and the others?" Carric asked. Ander shrugged.

The female wizard laughed. "Well alright then. Where are you setting it up?"

Ander pocketed the tower again. "How about I come with you, and then we can go together?"

Xiladdic smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She turned to Henry. "Why don't you go with Iados here back to where they're staying? We'll meet up with you later."

"Sure." Henry looked around. "Anyone know how to get out of here?"

Later that evening, everyone assembled behind the church. Jun and Carric built up a large fire pit with plenty of seating around it. With money in their pocket, Iados and Kerri had been sent off on a drink run, while Ander and Xiladdic had gotten food on their way back from the post office.

As the sun set, the group all ate fire-roasted potato, beef, and brussels sprout meat sticks. Xiladdic told everyone the tale of how she'd been magically joined with Orbris, and the members of M.A. caught her up on some of their adventures. Shomma made her way around to everyone as she begged for meat.

As the night wore on, Kerri disappeared from the group. It was Carric who found her.

He pushed open the trapdoor that led to the roof. Kerri sat on the edge of the crenelations. "You're missing out on a hilarious story from Ander's awkward teenage years."

The bard looked over towards him and grinned. "I'm sure it'll get retold later on." She laid her head on her knees.

He walked over and leaned next to her. "So, what are you doing up here?"

"Thinking."

"About what?"

She sighed. "Life, choices, how I got here."

"Ah, the heavy stuff." Carric stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So, word is you got some bad news today. Wanna share?"

"Not really."

Carric looked over the side. Below them, the shadows from the fire danced around the individuals around it. "Is it something I can help with?"

Kerri shook her head. "If that woman is to be believed, no one can help me."

The ranger frowned. "Do you believe her?"

Kerri didn't answer. Finally she sighed heavily. "I don't know. I'm in a bad place right now."

"And you have the right to be." Carric faced her. "Your whole world changed over the course of just a few months, and by the sound of it, it's gonna keep changing."

"Yay me." Kerri buried her head again. "Why can't my life be like yours?"

Carric's eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

She turned her face to him. "You have uncomplicated sex with strangers and fight monsters. Sounds like heaven."

Carric laughed. "Oh yes, my very unhealthy coping measures for deep feelings of abandonment and inability to connect with society is model behavior." He shook his head. "Trust me, do not emulate my behavior. I ran off and lived as a hermit for years to avoid dealing with my feelings. Wasn't till I met Jazale that I realized I couldn't run anymore." He looked down at the fireside group. "When you're ready to let us in on your latest wrinkle, we'll add it to the list of all the other inner demons we all need to face."

Kerri cracked a grin. "I don't know, Jun and Ander seem pretty stable."

Carric laughed. "With our luck that's not gonna last." He glanced down. "Looks like their unearthing whatever dessert they buried in the snow earlier." He held out a hand to Kerri. "Wanna come with me?"

Kerri looked at the hand for a moment, before she reached out and took it.

A couple of hours later, Henry and Xiladdic reluctantly bade everyone goodnight and headed back to The Nestled Dowry. With them the group sent the bundle of toys that had been entrusted to them when they'd left Esterwill. Ander promised that they'd visit once they were back in the area of the encampment.

M.A. spent another few days in Silverbank as they waited on word from the Circle about their next assignment. Iados and Maron met up a few times to discuss thieving techniques and to teach other thieves code from both Liratha and Marblebrooke. Iados even taught him some of the nautical equivalents he'd used as a pirate.

Elaine enlisted the help of Jun, Carric, and Kerri to knock out the new mattresses. The work was basic, but they made for a much better night's sleep.

Ander sent a very long letter to his master, about the woman in the palace and Xiladdic. A version of the letter was sent to Derick, the third apprentice. He wrote out a much longer letter to his girlfriend Shenir, but didn't know where to send it.

He also took the time to identity some of the items they'd all picked up in the palace.

In addition to each group finding magical storage bags, Iados had found a ring that would allow someone to fall from a great height unharmed. Ander bitterly asked where that had been when they'd escaped the burning house back in Yeabrook. The eye patch that Kerri had found went to Iados. Once per day it would allow him to see through walls for about ten minutes. The find that everyone agreed was the best, was the orb that Kerri had located in the library. The way Ander explained it, they could use it to scry on a person or place. The downside was that it would only work for one person.

"Something like this should probably go to someone responsible." Carric reasoned. Everyone looked around until their gazes finally settled on Jun and Elaine.

Elaine held up her hands. "Why not Ander? This seems like a wizard thing to me."

Ander frowned. "We don't have to decide this moment."

Elaine sighed. "Good, I'm not sure how I feel about eavesdropping on people."

Iados laughed. "It's that kind of attitude that makes you perfect for it. See me, I'd want it just so I could eavesdrop."

Lia hid out in the dormitories and worked her way through her book pile. At night her dreams were plagued with images of her uncle beating her. She didn't know whether these were more actual memories, or just her subconscious. One night her screams woke up everyone.

When she opened her eyes, Elaine stood over her. "What is going on?" The cleric asked as she settled herself on the edge of Lia's bed. Kerri climbed down off the bunk above.

"Nothing, just a bad dream." Lia reached up and wiped cold sweat off her forehead.

Elaine reached out and took Lia's hand. "That was more than just a bad dream. That was a nightmare. What was it about?" There was a knock at the door and Kerri went to speak with the boys.

The elf sighed. She told Elaine what she'd learn about her memories, and what she'd seen her uncle do to her. By this time Kerri had returned and sat on the bed opposite them.

"Hadarai was right." Elaine said.

"What do you mean?" Lia asked.

Elaine adjusted her seat on the bed. "During the festival in Yeabrook, your brother told me that he suspected Himo had messed with your memories. Poisoned you against your siblings and parents. He'd watched your uncle change the memories of your dead boyfriend's ex so that she would confess to the murder."

Lia's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean she didn't kill him?"

Elaine shook her head. "According to your brother she denied having anything to do with it."

"Hold on," Kerri said. "If you've known since the festival that something might be hinky with her memories, why didn't you say anything before now?"

Elaine shrugged. "I wasn't completely sold. All I had were Hadarai's observations. I've been speaking to the priest here at the church, to see if they had a way to see if something was wrong." Elaine looked back at Lia. "The only piece of good news now, is that it doesn't seem like all the original memories have come back at once. If you'd like, whenever you do get a new memory, you can always talk to me."

Lia smiled. "Thanks, I might take you up on that." She yawned. "For now what I think is need is some decent sleep."

The cleric smiled. "Kerri and I will be right here if you need us." She went to stand up, but the elf reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Elaine smiled softly and laid down next to Lia. For the first time the elf seemed younger than her. Kerri tried to climb onto the bed as well, but it was too narrow, and she just fell to the floor. She moved her bedding to the floor instead.

The next day there was a knock on the door as the group had breakfast. Jun answered it. A small boy handed him a letter and ran off.

"What is it?" Lia as she plopped jam on her pancakes.

"We got a letter, from the Circle." Jun held up the thick envelope with a large wax seal on it. "Guess it's time to get to work."