The crew relaxed for a while as Verin's Three Butlers (common) spell continued repairing the cottage wall and glass, scrubbing the soot from the interior and picking up scraps that had blown into the yard.

Now the butler-hands were in the summoning chamber making slow work of the eldritch membrane and organic material that had resulted from Natham's divination spell gone wrong.

It was getting late.

"We have some lodging room," said Verin, peeking his head out of the cottage door. "I think I can fit the lot of you on bedrolls in the parlor."

"I'll remain out here," said Morwen, beginning to unfurl her tent. She had collected stones to create a fire pit ring on a flat spot of bare ground.

"Me too," said Sven. "I need to stay with PL. He's my responsibility."

"But by all means," said Morwen, "the three of you should feel free to sleep indoors."

Andy nodded at the same time that he heard Arlene exhale in relief.

"Very well," Verin said. "I'll prepare 3 bedrolls in the parlor. And I'll have some tea ready in a few moments if anyone would like it."

Verin disappeared back into the cottage.

"Well, before we split up tonight, I suppose we should talk about plans?" Arlene asked. "Andy you mentioned we'd go exploring. Who's in?"

To Andy's surprise, Kermit groaned. "I'm sleepy. Can I just stay here tomorrow and play with PL?"

"I suppose everyone has their limits, even Kermit," Morwen said, smiling.

"Totally understandable," said Andy. Kermit had gotten them out of several difficult situations, and he was just a kid. He had to be tired.

"Well, if you want to play with PL, I'll hang back too," said Sven.

"Seems your exploration crew is dwindling," said Morwen. "And I'm afraid I need to join them. The things happening with Natham… I need to find out as much as I can. I should remain here."

Andy nodded. "Well, I guess we can just–"

"I'll go with you," said Arlene.

It hadn't even occurred to Andy that he could go out with Arlene, just the two of them. They had functioned as a tight group for so long. This would be the first time they had split the party for any amount of time. And without Morwen, they'd need to be careful. But it could be fun.

"Oh, awesome," Andy said. "Alright. Then you and I can go exploring tomorrow while everyone else stays back."

"Don't wander too far," said Morwen. "You never know when a random dragon is on your trail."

Andy nodded. There was certainly danger lurking in the wilderness. The past few days had made them more than well aware.

In truth, he was excited. He had been wanting to get some time with Arlene. He hadn't gotten a chance to really get to know her.

The evening wound down and Andy, Arlene, and Kermit retired to the cottage where Verin had left tea, somehow still hot, on the kitchen counter, along with a note:

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

make yourselves at home

washroom end of hall

bedrolls ready on floor of parlor

The tea was minty, with a kind of calming quality. Kermit took a few sips and headed into the parlor, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, leaving Arlene and Andy alone in the kitchen.

"So, where are we headed tomorrow?" Arlene asked in a hushed whisper, aiming not to wake anyone.

"Not sure," said Andy. "But I'm excited."

"Me too," said Arlene, smiling. The warm glow of the lamps that illuminated the kitchen reflected on her eyes. "What's that?" she said, pointing to the wall behind Andy.

Andy turned around to see a large, framed map with a big red X in the center, followed by the annotation YOU ARE HERE.

"Nice," said Andy. "Just what we needed."

"Let's have a look," said Arlene, standing up.

The map depicted lots of hills, woods, meadows, and streams that surrounded the cottage. Several spots were labeled vaguely by hand. One spot in the woods had a red dot labeled shrine to an unknown deity.

"What about that one?" Andy said, pointing to the shrine.

"Unknown deity? Nice. Sounds mysterious," said Arlene.

Andy nodded.

"So, remember what we promised?" Arlene said.

"Huh?" Andy said. Had he forgotten something he owed her?

"We made a promise!" Arlene said, yelling playfully in a hushed whisper. "To be exactly what we wanted to become."

"Oh!" Andy said. "Yes, yes of course. Yes, I remember."

"How's that going?" Arlene said.

"What… you mean how's my… becoming who I want to be? How's that going?"

"Mhmm."

"Oh, yeah, well…" Andy hadn't anticipated being asked such a big question so abruptly, and truthfully, he didn't have an answer. He hadn't had time to think about it much.

"I guess it's going good," he said. "I've learned some stuff in training recently that's been helpful."

"Yeah? That's cool. Is Morwen a good teacher?"

"Yeah, she is," Andy said. "She doesn't let me slack off."

"That's good," said Arlene. "She's given me some pointers too."

"Oh nice, like meditating on a twig?"

"Yeah," said Arlene.

"So she's training you too?"

"Only until we get back to Cresthaven. She said she doesn't really do much with ranged weapons. But the meditation stuff… she says everyone needs to learn it. And I think I agree with her."

"Nice," said Andy.

"But you're happy?" she said.

"Yeah," Andy said. He had uttered the words before he thought about it, but he quickly realized they were true. He was happier than he had been in a long time. Tired but fulfilled. A feeling he had always longed for. "What about you?"

"Yeah," Arlene said. "I'm having a blast. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't stressful sometimes… but it's so much more compelling than what I had ever imagined for myself."

The two of them sipped their tea in silence for a while before Arlene got up. "I'm going to go get some sleep," she said. "You coming?"

"I'll be in after a bit," Andy said, watching the steam rise from his tea.

"Ok," Arlene said smiling. "I'll probably be out by the time you get in. I'll see you tomorrow."

She grinned as she gave him a friendly touch on the shoulder and turned to exit.

Andy sipped tea in silence for several minutes. Perhaps even half an hour. He looked out the window. Morwen was sitting by the fire, nodding off. Sven had his head propped up against PL as he snored. Everything was ok.

The Infinite Plane and its System encouraged constant effort, constant striving, constant adventuring to gain more levels. But right now, Andy was content remaining still and thanking whatever higher power was responsible for his good fortune.

He felt relief, being in the present and taking in everything that surrounded him.

His hand brushed his pocket and he felt the twig that Morwen had given him to meditate on. That's when he realized he had already been meditating. He had found his focus, his presence, even without the twig.