Lenora’s question silently hung in the air. I thought about it for a minute before answering her. There was no point in doubting someone like her. She had been an emotional wreck when we first met her, stuck in a bad marriage with anxiety and self-esteem issues. My cynical old self would have argued that it was all a trap and this woman was just a poser. But it was obvious. Lenora wasn't capable of hurting anyone. She wore her feelings on her sleeve and was afraid of being alone. She wasn't someone to be afraid of.

I smiled and said, “Yes, I trust you.” (Later that evening, I would also divine with the osteodial if Lenora was trustworthy. And it pointed towards ‘yes’).

Then there was a sound of the front door opening. Lily and Smokewell had come home. We went downstairs. Lily was lugging two hefty shopping bags in each hand while the black cat sat leisurely on her shoulder.

Lily obviously didn't break a sweat throughout all of this. “You bought a lot of stuff,” I said.

The girl put the bags down. “I mean, it has to last us the whole month, right?” Then she looked at our housemate. “How are you now? You went down like a tree after all that drinking.”

Lenora groaned, rubbing her temples as if she just remembered she had a headache. “Why did you have to remind me?” she said. “I was almost distracted from the pain.”

I grinned again. “I think I have just the remedy for what you are going through.”

I dug into the shopping bags. “Did you get everything from the list?” I asked Lily.

The girl nodded. I took a few things out of both the bags and walked into the kitchen. I spent several minutes in there while my housemates waited in the sitting room, puzzled.

I came back with a glass half-filled with a reddish yellow liquid. I handed it to Lenora.

“What is this?” she asked, uncertainly eyeing the drink.

“It's called a prairie oyster,” I said. “It should help you with your hangover.”

With the uncertainty still on her face, she raised the glass to her lips but winced, as if catching a foul whiff of something. “This stinks!” she said.

“Just pinch your nose and gulp it down.” I rolled my eyes. “You don't have to savor it. Or even taste it. Go on, do it. Bottoms up!”

The girl forced the drink down her throat in a single swallow. She put the glass down with a look of disdain. I was almost surprised with how well she took it. Even Lily and Smokwell--who weren't aware of what a prairie oyster actually tastes like--looked astounded by the girl.

“What in God's name was it even made of?” Lenora said, after rinsing her mouth at the sink with water.

“Some vinegar, some hot sauce, a pinch of salt and black pepper, one crushed tomato and a raw egg,” I said. I hadn't mention Worcestershire sauce in the grocery list I’d given to Lily because it probably wasn't invented anywhere in Ravenwind yet.

“What?!” Lenora gawked at me. “That's supposed to help with a hangover?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Aren't you more focused on the taste of the remedy now than your hangover?”

Lilian folded her arms. “Why did you make that weird drink, Miss Elsa? You could've just given her the lightbrain elixir.”

“What's that supposed to do?” Lenora said.

“It’s a focus enhancing potion that is supposed to be drank before conducting a long and complicated ritual,” Smokewell said and smacked Lily’s arm with a paw. “That would make a non-user catatonic, you idiot.”

“It's supposed to clear one’s head,” Lily said. “It should also cure hangovers.”

I could tell an argument was about to break out between the two when Lenora laughed. All eyes turned to her.

Stolen story; please report.

“What's so funny?” Smokewell said.

It took Lenora a minute to stop laughing before she wiped a tear and said, “You all are such intelligent witches. Yet none of you have found a way to cure a simple hangover.”

****

Then we had lunch. Nothing too fancy. A simple slow cooked stew of meat and vegetables, seasoned with thyme and served with toast. And I made some lemonade to wash it down. Smokewell sat at the head of the table and had some raw lamb that we served her in a bowl.

“So, it is confirmed that she doesn't have a problem living with us?” the cat asked, looking at Lenora.

Before Lenora could answer I spoke up. “Yes. It is. We are living together. So we need to trust each other if we want to be happy in the process,” I said.

Smokewell's face became unreadable again. “I guess we'll find out how much she trusts us anyway.” She shrugged.

A silence descended upon the table. This time Lenora was the one who broke it. “So, you all said you won't be able to offer witchcraft services for money, have you decided what you guys are going to do?”

“We've discussed it before,” Lily said. “But we are not sure.”

“I don't have to do anything to live,” Smokwell said, “one of the best things about being a cat is that I'm not a human.”

I rolled my eyes. “We know and trust me, we envy you, but we've had this talk before. Sooner or later we're going to have to start something.”

“Have you considered going to a…university maybe?” Lenora said. “You can get a degree in any course you want and if you are good at crunching numbers I can give a refferral to you at some business as an accountant. I have a few contacts that can help you out.”

“I'm not too good with numbers,” Lilian said. “Maybe, Miss Elsa might be good at it.”

They both looked at me. Smokewell was busy with her lamb.

“No, I'm not really interested. I have a better alternative for us,” I said. “I suggest we become adventurers.”

The cat finally raised her head. “I beg your pardon?” she said.

“Adventurers,” I said again.

“You mean like…we go and ask people for a job that the police or the government might not be ready to do and we do it and get paid for it?” Lily said.

“That sounds dangerous,” Lenora said.

“And not to mention,” Smokewell said. “There are no guilds or associations for it. No formal institution for adventurers in Ravenwind. A place where you can operate from so people can approach you and ask for help.”

I knew all of that. I'd meditated over that fact since we had returned from Pallport. I leaned ahead and steepled my fingers. “Right now, we don't need a formal institution,” I said. “We have been acting like a quasi-adventuring party already. We did that job for the Malcolms. And then helped Hopper in Stonebarrow. What's wrong with doing this thing more seriously?”

Everyone went silent with contemplation. The best thing about choosing to be adventurers was that Ravenwind's legal system wasn't very developed. Which meant no one was going to question us how we made our money unless someone actively snitched on us. “All we have to do is pay the basic taxes and keep on living a modest life to not catch unwanted attention. And then we are golden,” I said.

Lenora raised her hand and said, “I can second that. As long as you don't do anything that is obviously against the law or well, don't get reported by someone, no one is going to pay much attention to you.”

“What kind of clients would we take up?” Smokewell asked.

“The high profile ones,” I said. “People like Hammer. They are the ones who will be more likely to need something done in secrecy. I don’t trust the common folk to use our talents and shut up about it later.”

“I agree with Miss Elsa,” Lily said. “Also, there's more money in that approach.”

Smokewell's tail twitched a little at the mention of more money. “Now isn't that something I like to hear?” she said and then with a more serious look, she said, “How will we get to such clients though?”

“We can worry about that later,” I said and finished the last of my stew and rose up to leave. “Money isn't a problem for us just yet. So we don't have to worry about details right now.”

After lunch was done, we picked our bedrooms and carried our luggage to our respective rooms. I took a shower after I'd unpacked my bags and my closet was all set.

It was almost evening by then. I put the pouch of the obsidian key under a floorboard and laid a small rug over it. I kept old Elsa's books on witchcraft and other ritual gear in the suitcase and stowed the bag in the corner of my closet.

Feeling the day's sense of fatigue and tiredness settle over me, I climbed into me bed and pulled on the covers. I let out a soft breath as I looked at the moon outside the window.

My mind drifted back to the discussion we’d had at lunch. “Covert adventuring was the best job for us,” I mumbled to myself.

It would allow me to test my capabilities at witchcraft and maintain a fairly low profile. It would also help me learn more about this new world I was now living in. Money would just be the cherry on top.

All of it would help me get stronger before I decide to use the obsidian key.

I felt a swell of hope in my chest as I pondered over these thoughts. From tomorrow onwards, I would dive into my hexonomicon and meditate more over old Elsa's memories.

I closed my eyes and reminded myself: “I'm Elsa Grimly. And I'm going to live a great life.”