"Quaint" was the best word to describe Marisa's home. Though it didn't have much space, furnishings or amenities, it did have amiable warmth, a lived-in feel and a chaotic mess of calamitous proportions. The last part put my mind at ease, as without it Marisa's story of the baby being taken from here by force would've seemed rather disingenuous. Further proof that Marisa wasn't an impostor stood in the far corner - a small, makeshift crib. The house, only one room, also had a stone fireplace, a dining table with two chairs, and a bed in the right corner just big enough for two.

Having set the baby in his crib, Marisa was darting between cleaning and getting a fire going for our tea. Jenn assured her she needn't bother, as we wouldn't be staying long. Kevin and Topher also agreed to a speedy visit. Personally, I'd have wanted to keep indoors until I was sure all the sinister squirrels were gone, but Marisa was probably exhausted, and not prepared for entertaining guests.

"It's alright, Marisa. Please, sit." Jenn gently took a broom from Marisa's hands and set it next to the wall. "If anyone ever needed to sit down, it's you."

Marisa seemed a bit pained that she wasn't being a good host, but exhaustion both physical and emotional kept her from putting up much of a fight. Jenn guided her to the edge of the bed. Kneeling down in front of her, Jenn said, "We won't be long, then you can get some rest. Did we ever give you our names?"

Marisa nodded. "Topher and… Kevin?" she looked at Kevin, who nodded. “Introduced themselves and told me your name is Jenn, and you're Jack?" I smiled in response, which she reciprocated.

"Marisa, the people who took your son will no longer be a problem, understand?" said Jenn, earnestly. "Now, I need to ask this because I have to be thorough: Who is the child's father?"

"My husband, of course," said Marisa, not understanding.

"And what's his name?"

"Brance."

"Last name?"

"Deralin, same as mine." I let out a mental sigh of relief that it wasn't Railford.

"What does he do? Occupationally, I mean."

Marisa's eyebrow twitched. "He's retired."

"Retired from?"

"…He was an adventurer."

Kevin, Topher and I shared looks. Jenn continued, "Did Brance have any enemies?"

"I don't…" Marisa shook her head, "maybe a few? He never really talked about that part of his life."

Jenn nodded. "When did he retire?"

"Two years ago, when we married." Her face brightened, albeit slightly. "He said he was done with his former life. He wanted to make a new one with me. We built this house together…." she looked around, smiling. "He even got permission from King Eridar to build here." Her eyes fell on Kevin, as though expecting a reaction. Kevin froze for a second, then gave slow, solemn nod, like he was impressed. Marisa turned back to Jenn. I looked at Kevin, who looked back and gave me an "I have no idea" shrug.

Jenn smiled at her, but switched to a serious frown. "Why did he leave, Marisa?" she asked, quietly.

Marisa understood the implication. "It wasn't anything terrible or dramatic," she said, without nearly as much defensiveness as I expected. "He said he had to take care of some things that crept up from his former life, and he'd be back as soon as he could." She looked down to the crib, in which the baby was now sleeping. "That was eight months ago."

Jenn closed her eyes, let out a short but significant breath. "Did he say anything else about why he was leaving? Or where he was going?"

She thought about it. "…No. He left in the direction of town. I offered to walk him there, but he said I shouldn't."

I realized what Jenn was up to. I'd thought she was going to figure out why the baby was wanted by pixies, but apparently she changed her mind. I leaned back against the wall, only to have something rounded press into my back. I reached behind to feel a wooden implement strapped to me. Confused, I removed the strap to find my lute attached to it - I had completely forgotten it was there. I set it down.

"Do you play?" asked Marisa.

I looked down at the lute, then up to her. "...Probably?"

"Marisa," said Topher, "You said Brance was an adventurer. Usually, they don't work alone. Who did he work with? Do you know their names?" It seemed Topher knew where this was going, as well.

"I don't know. I only saw them once - they didn't even come to the wedding." Dead end, there.

Topher didn't give up, though. "What about a hometown, or a base that they used? Was there a city they spent most of their time?"

"…Rikston, maybe? Why do you want to know?"

"Where's Rikston?"

She gave him a baffled look. "About a week to the south? Have you never heard of it?”

Topher nodded. Jenn said, "We're going to look for your husband."

"You'll… you'll what?" Marisa's eyes went wide.

I stepped in. "What she means is we'll probably end up on a journey throughout the land anyway, and we'll ask around about him as we travel. If we find him, we'll urge him to come back home. Sound good?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, that's wonderful! Thank you! I mean…" she shrunk back, "you've done so much. More than anyone could expect. I… I can't ever begin to repay…. Are you sure you wouldn't like some tea?" She started up but Jenn stopped her.

"It's not like we're going to be kicking down doors to find him or anything," said Kevin. "But we'll ask whoever we think might know something. It's no big deal."

"And saving your baby was simply the right thing to do. Nothing more, nothing less," added Jenn. “If you wanted to talk about repayment, however….”

Marisa held her breath. I realized she’d been waiting for the other shoe to fall this whole time.

Jenn smiled at her, then looked at Kevin. "The bag?" she asked. Kevin walked across the room and handed her a small pouch. "The people who took your baby," she said, "had some money on them. We think it's only fair that some of it go to you, as reparations for the ordeal." Jenn started shaking out a pile of glittering gold. Marisa, hand over mouth, gawked at the sight. “There was about a hundred coins, and Kevin and I thought giving you one of five shares would be reasonable. Sound fair?"

“F-fair?” Marisa almost choked at the notion. "That's so much more than fair. That's…."

Jenn turned to Topher and me. "Sound good to you guys?"

Topher didn't need to give it much thought. "Yeah, sure."

I looked at Topher, then at Marisa, and back to Jenn. "…No," I said.

I could feel Marisa's heart briefly stop from the other side of the room. Jenn's face darkened, Topher exclaimed an abrupt "Jack!" while Kevin inflected a curious "Jack?"

I held my hand up. "We split the coin six ways - one for each of the four of us, one for Marisa, and one for the little guy." I pointed to the crib.

A burst of relief swept through the room, but I only stared at Jenn. She gave me a soft smile of appreciation which caused my base instincts to happily roar. I changed my look to disheartened, and slowly shook my head. Jenn was slightly taken aback as she comprehended my thoughts - I didn't think this Brance Deralin was ever coming back, and Marisa needed all the help she could get. She caught herself, tightening her lips and giving me a quick nod of respect.

I half-smiled at Marisa. "So that makes it six shares of between sixteen and seventeen gold apiece," I calculated. "We'll call it thirty-four gold for the two of you, together." Then back to Jenn, "Does that sound fair, everyone?"

It was agreed. Jenn started counting coins, but I soon relieved her, as she had a problem with dropping them (in her defense, her gloves were quite bulky). Marisa watched incredulously the entire time, not even able to speak.

"Marisa?" Kevin was eyeing something over the fireplace mantle. “Did… does this bow belong to your husband?" I looked up. Sure enough, unnoticed until it was pointed out, was a strung longbow mounted on the wall. The light wasn't terribly good in the house, but I could tell there was some sort of intricate carving along the wood. It had to be ornamental, though - leaving a longbow strung for any real length of time would damage its pull.

"Yes, it does! He said it was his favorite when he was 'just starting out'. It's been on that wall ever since we moved in. It's beautiful, isn't it?" 'Just starting out'? He must have upgraded at some point.

Kevin nodded. "Quite beautiful. May I take a closer look at it?" he asked, holding his hand a few inches away. Marisa said it was fine, and he lifted it off the wall. A strange look of surprise, excitement, confusion and wonder spread across his face as he held it. I had a hunch as to what it meant.

I mouthed "magic?" when he turned to look at me. He nodded. "Marisa, I know this was very important to your husband," he said, "but would you be willing to let us borrow it? At least until we find him." Marisa didn't seem to like the idea. "…Please? It really would help us a lot….”

"You know, Marisa," I gilded my voice, "it's feasible that we, at some point in our travels, will come upon the opportunity to… I believe the word is 'scry'. That is, use magic to find something, or someone, from afar." She stared at the bow during my speech. "Now, as I recall, finding someone you've never met before can be difficult, perhaps impossible," I spent a second to give the next part more emphasis, “unless you have something of tremendous importance to who you're trying to find." I watched her as she weighed the need to find her husband with the want to stay connected by any means necessary, factoring in the uncertainty of us. It had to be a hard decision - after all, if the bow was magical, she could have easily sold it and lived the high life for quite a while, if my memory of D&D economics was right. The reason she hadn't sold it yet had to be due to her not wanting to disappoint her husband along with desperately holding onto the happy memory of them placing it over the mantle on their first day in their house. "So you understand how temporarily parting with it benefits all of us."

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Marisa let out a resigned sigh. "Promise me you'll take care of it?" She shot a glance up to Kevin.

Kevin nodded. "I promise." Score one magic item for the party.

I finished counting the coin. Jenn gave Marisa her family’s shares and said we’d be going. Marisa looked at the gold in her hands, gently set it down on the table, and fell onto Jenn in an unabashed hug. I took it as my queue to leave. I was sure I could ask about ‘the Ware’ and whatever else in town. Nice to leave this chapter behind.

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Everan was never an imposing man. Most children past the age of thirteen were taller than he, and would fare decisively better if a sudden wind were to threaten to blow them away. He was never a charming man. He had a problem of being honest without discretion, and his keen mind had very little tolerance for fools. He was never a handsome man. Babies tended to cry in his presence, and most people found his facial features to be more akin to a brick than not. He was never a trusting man. An early life on the streets showed him more sides of the humanoid condition than most ever knew, and he carried a healthy paranoia of those with whom he wasn’t familiar.

He strode down the hall in quick, purposeful steps, hands clasped behind his back. The hard soles of his shoes made a steady beat against the stone floor. A small group of girls, somewhere in their teens, heard him coming and quickly shushed each other.

“Good afternoon, headmaster,” they lilted, curtsying to him in their school robes.

“Elize, Tayra, Anka, Linness,” he listed out loud, walking past them. Though he only taught advanced classes, he made a point to memorize all the students’ names and progress in their curriculum. These girls had barely completed a semester, but their wizarding future was already very much in doubt. He assumed they’d been talking about breaking curfew, as tonight the Fleethand Circus was in town. “Classes start at eight o’clock sharp, tomorrow,” he reminded.

“Of course, headmaster,” said Tayra, the leader of the gaggle. The others snickered at her feigned manners, knowing they’d be overheard but stupidly believing their plans couldn’t be gleaned by stuffy adults.

Everan marched onward. He didn’t have time to scold them, and even if he did, he wouldn’t have wasted the energy. Those girls weren’t worth it. They were all accepted into his school simply because they could use magic, not because they had a particular aptitude for it. Actually, he could forgive the lack of true aptitude if they’d shown at least a general interest in it. Laws had to be followed, though, and deals with the ruling council of Rikston had to be kept. It disgusted him.

He turned a corner to see four male students heading his way, and he made a mental note of each of them. They were also not of the caliber he’d have liked. They simply smiled at him as they walked past, though he noted that they gave him a wide berth. He heard them round the corner as a group and greet the girls - willing accomplices to their excursion, no doubt. It didn’t matter. He’d gather evidence of their rule breaking, using it if he ever felt the need to expel them. There were plenty of students he wanted to send away, seeing as their lackluster performance and inattention were holding back the few exceptional ones. He was still fairly new to running a school, however, and decided to hold off on any rash decisions until he had a few more semesters under his belt. At thirty years of age, he had a long career ahead of him.

Further down the hall was the school’s head housekeeper, Mavis, at whom he actually smiled. She smiled back, but could see he didn’t have time to chat. Everan appreciated Mavis. She had been the first person they hired when the school was started, over two years ago. She was efficient, diligent, intelligent, and would be a permanent fixture in the school as long as he ran it. She also showed the proper amount of respect to someone who could stop time and have meteors rain from the heavens, unlike many students.

He rounded the final corner. Outside of his destination, Gerard’s office, were two students, one male and one female. The boy was tall, with blonde hair and a muscular frame, and the girl was average in height, with black hair and a lithe but muscled body. Everan recognized them as Kryx and Linore - Gerard’s proteges. They were both enrolled in the program for sorcerers, of which Gerard was the head. He knew Gerard’s methods of teaching were severe - ‘the harder the challenges students have to deal with in a school, the easier a time they’ll have outside of it’ was the philosophy Gerard had told him once. On the whole, Everan agreed, but felt Gerard took it to far too extreme proportions with these two. He demanded no less than eighteen hours of work from them each day. A large part of that time was spent in the school curriculum, but he also expected time devoted to physical conditioning, the use and repair of weapons and armor, trap detection and removal, survival training in various terrains, small unit tactics, wartime strategy, the anatomy and behavior of monstrous beasts both magical and mundane, negotiation techniques, engineering, and the study of several languages. They’d been given magical rings to wear that drastically reduced the amount of sleep they required, as well as removing any need for food.

He would have pitied them if they hadn’t absolutely thrived under the pressure. Everan had often been amazed at Gerard’s ability to instantly assess and understand people, and he’d chosen well when he picked these two. Their magical prowess was remarkable, as well as their mental acuity and athleticism. Every goal Gerard had set for them was met and often exceeded, though he rarely gave them the satisfaction of compliments. In fact, Gerard had carefully crafted his relationship to them as that of a distant father. Each unfeeling expression to their successes or cold look of disappointment at their infrequent failures spurred them to further their efforts, and he made sure a heated rivalry between the two kept them sharp.

It was because of this last fact that Everan was surprised to see the two of them locked in passionate embrace. Kryx was awkwardly holding Linore as he clumsily collided his lips with hers, and she was eagerly kissing him back. They were seventeen, thought Everan, both attractive and slaves to their hormones, but they’d been waging a desperate war for attention for the last two years. His first thought was that one or both were trying to manipulate the other. He soon dismissed the idea, however, as Gerard would never allow something with such potential for disruption to continue, and they could never keep such a development from him. It might just be as simple as stress relief, but no. If this relationship was happening, it was because Gerard wanted it to happen. Not that they’d know it was his doing, of course.

No, if Everan knew Gerard, chances were this was because he already had plans for Kryx and Linore’s future children.

They heard him coming and ceased immediately. There was no sign in their expressions of any hint of shock or embarrassment (no doubt thanks to Gerard’s teachings), though their cheeks were burning red. They greeted him as headmaster, then quickly left saying they shouldn’t keep him. Everan opened Gerard’s door without knocking and entered.

Left and right, from floor to vaulted ceiling, Gerard’s office was lined with bookshelves. While Everan’s collection was more extensive and had many rarer pieces, Gerard still had some tomes that would be the envy of any magician. Not that he was particularly possessive - each of their libraries were available for the other to read at any time. Various pedestals were set in ordered fashion throughout the room. Every one displayed a different trophy taken from their past careers as adventurers: a sword gifted by an orc chieftain, a wand wrestled from an Oni Mage’s grasp, boots found in the vault of a vampire’s castle, the cracked goggles of a gnome whose ill conceived contraption exploded and killed her, and a canary diamond that housed the soul of a particularly nasty and sentient badger, to name a few. The back wall of Gerard’s office was nothing but windows made of thick, blood-red glass. Inside, this gave the room an oppressive glow. Looking outside, one might think the world was on fire.

“You said this was urgent,” stated Everan.

Gerard was leaning over his desk, staring into a glass orb. He was massive - taller than Everan by a good foot and a half, and a couple hundred pounds heavier, though one couldn’t see an once of fat on him. His black hair never seemed to be disheveled or unkempt. He had a face which often made the ladies swoon, and a smile that could melt ice. Back when they first met, Gerard had driven Everan mad with jealous hatred. A few weeks of traveling together and saving each other’s lives soon washed those feelings away, though Gerard being a wonderfully nice and terrific guy (albeit somewhat manipulative) didn’t hurt. Here they were, twelve years later, running their own school for arcane magicians and having a good time doing it.

Gerard looked up, grinning at the sight of his old friend. “It was,” he said, offering Everan a seat. “Though the problem was already taken care of.”

“What was the problem?” Everan looked at the orb, inside of which was a view of a small log cabin.

“Well, the information’s a bit spotty,” Gerard gave a harmlessly reproachful look at the orb, “but Brance’s child was taken from his mother. You recall I mentioned she gave birth a couple weeks ago?”

So that cabin was the one Brance built to be with his wife, thought Everan. “I do. What do you mean when you say ‘it’s been taken care of’? I hope you mean it ended well.”

“It did,” Gerard’s face went bright with delight. “A small band of wet-behind-the-ears adventurers saved him. All of them made it out, and with very few scratches, I might add. They went inside with Marisa a few minutes ago.”

Tension gone, Everan relaxed into his chair. “You only contacted me half an hour ago. They must’ve been Johnny-on-the-spot.”

“Ah. Well,” Gerard looked back at the crystal ball, “I think he was taken a matter of hours ago, actually. I only contacted you once I’d found out.”

“Hours? What would cause such a delay? Don’t tell me Brance’s squirrels are sleeping on the job.”

“Ha! Those squirrels. You should’ve seen it,” Gerard pointed to the orb. “The newbies almost crapped themselves when they finally noticed they were surrounded.” They laughed at that. Gerard, still smiling, shook his head. “Only Brance would think to guard his wife with squirrels.” He looked back to Everan. “But no, I think their method of contacting us was obstructed by something. I’ll look into it.”

That order of business done, Everan just had to mention, “So your favorite pupils seem to be getting on well.”

“I’m betting they didn’t get five feet from the door before they were all over each other.”

“More like eight,” shrugged Everan.

“Really?” Gerard sighed. “Those two could learn to be a bit more bold. I should fix that.”

“By bold do you mean reckless? As in reckless enough for Linore to get pregnant so you can offer to take care of their child while they go out and save the world?”

Gerard grinned. “Wasn’t what I meant, but that would be ideal. Any child of theirs should grow up to be quite powerful… especially under my tutelage.” He leaned back in his chair, fingertips touching. His face went soft. “That’s not why I did it, though. I’ve actually known they’d be perfect for each other two weeks into their first year. I’ve been wondering ever since how long it would take them to realize it. Even when they did, they still needed a bit of a push. You know, for as smart as Kryx is, he can really be dense about things.” He smiled. “I just wanted to see them happy.”

Everan doubted that. “So you played matchmaker to be nice? Are you getting soft on me? What happened to the glorious pragmatist I knew?”

Gerard stared at him, utterly serious. “He lost friends. And gained perspective.”

“Of course,” nodded Everan, though still doubting. He knew Gerard would pick up on it. With a gesture to the orb, he asked, “Any chance Brance will show up to thank them?”

Gerard gave it a look. “That’d be nice,” he mused. “But I don’t know if he’s even aware he has a child.”

“He’s clever,” Everan replied. “I’m sure his squirrels could tell him.”

“Maybe we should ask them? Haven’t been to that part of—Oh, seems they’re coming out.”

Everan looked into the orb. A tall man, somewhat overweight, sauntered out of the cabin, eyes darting around - perhaps looking for squirrels. He was followed by an armored half-orc male, a striking half-elf female and a red headed elven male. For an adventuring party, they looked respectable. Brance’s wife followed them to the door, and they exchanged a few words.

The bow the elf was carrying seemed familiar. Everan leaned in, squinting his eyes. He recognized it - Brance’s bow. Everan and Gerard made it for him more than a decade ago with the most powerful magic they could muster at the time, which wasn’t saying much. He glanced at Gerard, wondering if he noticed that this ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ group was walking off with what was weeks of their work, not to mention one of Brance’s most prized possessions.

Gerard watched the orb with an enigmatic smirk. A small glimmer of confused recognition crossed his face. He rubbed the glass orb with his thumb, as though there were a smudge on it. His face turned into an outraged frown. He must have noticed, thought Everan.

There was a deafening bang as Gerard smacked the table. “No… No!” A bit much, thought Everan. Gerard rarely overreacted. Today must be a special day.

He stared straight into Everan’s eyes. “Do you have Teleport memorized?”

“Always,” replied Everan, who was beginning to think his friend was taking this too seriously. “But I used my most powerful spells as demonstrations for my classes. I don’t think I have another Teleport in me, today.”

Gerard waved his hand, sending the trophy pedestals sliding to the far sides of the room. He reached into his desk and pulled out a small black ball for Everan to see. “Do you remember the incantation?”

“Yes, but what’s wrong? Surely this isn’t about the bow….”

“We have to get there, now.” Gerard pointed to the glass orb. “That’s not the real Marisa.”