Thorne Nightshade was pouring a pint for Drogan when Olivia burst into the room like a whirlwind. Looking up he started to speak, but stopped as he saw the woman frantically looking around the small tavern. His pulse quickened at the wild look in Olivia’s eyes. His voice was tight as he spoke.
“What’s wrong?”
The whole room grew silent at the chiefs words, all eyes turned to Olivia. She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her thoughts. Then another, the tension in the room palpable now. She took in the sight of almost the entire village, a shaky smile on her face as she spoke.
“It’s nothing bad. Not an attack or anything. It’s just...” She trailed off as the entire place let out a collective breath. Remembering what Lady Alice told Eira, she locked eyes with Thorne.
“We need to talk.”
With those words she headed into the back room, away from the villagers curious gazes, Thorne following a moment later.
Walking into the small corridor that lead to the kitchen and stairway Thorne looked to Olivia, eyebrow raised in question. As soon as the door behind him closed, she opened her mouth. The deluge of words that followed left Thorne just as confused, the woman stumbling over her words, repeating herself and generally presenting like a wild mess. He took two steps forward, grabbed her by the shoulders and adding a little pressure to steady the frantic Oracle and clearly enunciated his next words.
“Olivia. I cannot understand you. Take a deep breath and calm yourself. We have a visitor coming, I got that much, but—” She cut him off.
“Not just a visitor! A Champion! Her Champion.” He could almost hear the capitalisation of the word. Then it sunk in and he gaped at Olivia.
“Champion? Whimsy’s champion? But she never had one before...”
“I know! And she called herself a friend of Whimsy’s! And she spoke to a shadow panther. And she said not to call her Lady, and that she’s not a goddess, and that—” To Thorne’s relief another voice cut into the ramblings, which were growing more frantic by the second. He turned around to see Eira walk in.
“And she can speak to the goddess. Not just receive Oracles – actually talk. That or she’s insane, it seemed rude to ask. You should also know that everyone can hear you out there when you shout like that. So whatever secrecy you wanted to keep – yeah, not happening.” She focused on Thorne then.
“Can you prepare a room for our guest please? I already asked your wife to make her some food. Also, do you mind if she uses your bathroom? Yours is the only one with an actual bath.” Eira’s matter of fact way of dealing with things calmed Thorne. Usually her dispassionate behaviour made him feel awkward, in a village as small as theirs, where everyone was close with everyone, it was often uncomfortable for him. In this case he found it not only useful, but steadying, knowing she was acting normal. Or what passed for normal for her, he supposed.
“Speak to... No, first things first. We have a room ready, that’s no problem. I’ll start filling the bath as well. Is there any more shocking news you have for me before I go out to meet our visitor?”
“She has a shadow panther cub with her, does that count?” Eira asked, a small smile playing on her lips.
“She has a WHAT?!” Thorne couldn’t hide his shock, both at the revelation and smile. Olivia answered, she apparently spent her energy as it was fully coherent now.
“She said a shadow panther queen asked her for help. She died fighting an acid slime, supposedly protecting them both, and Lady Alice took the cub with her. Anyway, off with you! Prepare the bath and room, I’ll let Lady Alice know.” With that, she headed back out leaving Eira and Thorne looking at each other dumbfounded. Eira broke the silence first.
“I’ve never seen her so... Alive, before. It’s weird.” Thorne couldn’t help but nod.
“Yeah, no shit. I kinda feel sorry for whoever will have to deal with it.”
“Eh, Alice seems to have her in hand. I overheard her, khem, asking, Lady Whimsy for help.” Thorne looked curiously at her.
“What’s with the weird emphasis?”
“Well, her ‘asking’ involved threats of revealing shameful secrets, so...” Eira shrugged, her smile growing slightly. Thorne’s eyes widened in pure shock.
“She... Threatened a goddess?” Eira nodded in response, expression not changing.
“Won the argument too, from what I gathered.”
“That’s just...” At a loss for words Thorne sighed, then headed upstairs to prepare everything, muttering under his breath. “This is shaping up to be an interesting winter.”
—
Alice looked around the village. After dropping off the hunted game in the barn, Eira lead her towards the centre of the village. The errand took them moments, apparently the animals would be butchered the following day so they just needed to leave them in the cellar, and the village honestly wasn’t big enough for to even be called a ‘penny tour’. Still, Alice was attentive and polite as Eira pointed out all the different buildings.
When she asked, Eira explained that the village had communal storage for most food. There weren’t enough of them to really bother with private property outside of things like clothing and weapons. And so, all the food, firewood, housing and other necessities of life were freely shared between the villagers. Everyone had a job, all of which had a direct impact on the lives of everyone in the village. You pulled your weight or you were ‘politely’ asked to leave. Alice voiced her worries about that, but Eira just gave her a look she didn’t understand and said it’ll be fine. Alice wasn’t going to argue, though she decided to find a way to help them if possible. She didn’t want handouts, especially from people who, it seemed to her, lead a hard enough life as it was. Whimsy popped up in her head then.
“It’s not as bad as you might think. Almost everyone in this village is strong and skilled from what I saw. The soil here is fertile, the forest has lots of game. Yes, it’s dangerous to most people. These... Aren’t most people. You’ll probably fit right in.” The last was said with the tone Alice was quickly learning meant mischief, when coming from Whimsy. She was about to retort when they arrived at the door to the largest building, two stories tall.
Alice’s heart skipped a beat as she heard voices coming from inside. It was one thing meeting the two women. Olivia was one of Whimsy’s clergy, and while that meant little to both her and the DI it did mean they were virtually guaranteed help from the woman. This largely turned out to be true so far, and it seemed Eira was following the older woman’s lead.
Now, though she would be facing a whole bunch of people. She looked at herself and winced, dressed as she was. So much for first impressions. She thought to herself. Some of that trepidation must have been shared with Chess, as her little companion nuzzled her on the cheek. That, or she knew there was food behind the door. Alice smiled at the thought and followed Eira, who by now was halfway in the door.
Everyone was in ‘the tavern’, which Alice gathered was just the village chief’s house, hotel, meeting place and general centre of the evening life in the village. As she crossed the threshold, the conversations stopped and several dozen pairs of eyes landed on her, some widening at the sight. Alice smiled awkwardly, she was never good with people, but then who would feel comfortable being scrutinised like this? Eira’s voice pulled her out of her reverie.
“Drogan! I got a project for you!” Alice looked up at the man sitting at the bar nearby. It was a simple wooden counter, cut from what seemed like a single tree, thick and stained from use. As he turned towards them, it took all of Alice’s willpower not to gasp audibly. The man was gorgeous.
At least two metres tall he had a shoulder length braid of sandy coloured hair. His face was young, maybe mid twenties, and sun bronzed with slight stubble evenly spread. He had tiny, barley visible, crows feet at the corners of his eyes, implying a life of laugher. This was reinforced by the dimples that formed in his cheeks as he smiled widely at Eiras words, his brown eyes also brightening in joy. His chest was broad, visible between folds of a yellow-brown vest that was unbuttoned, and well muscled. His arms were wider than Alice’s legs and she gaped at the rippling line of working muscle on them. She couldn’t see his ass, but she was sure it was just as well developed as the rest of him. Get your mind out of the gutter Alice, this is not the time. She admonished herself and followed Eira deeper into the room, taking Cheshire into her hand she stretched it out to the handsome man.
“My friend needs food. I think milk will do, but I’m not sure. I never had a shadow panther before.” She said, feeling her cheeks redden at the lame introduction. Drogan looked up from Eira to Alice, and with the same joviality as before spoke.
“Shadow Panther? Hahaha! That’s a good one, new friend, no one ever had a sha—” As his eyes went down to Chesire, his voice trailed off, eyes widening. He took a step towards Alice, Eira interrupting his upcoming outburst. “That’s—!”
“A shadow panther cub.” She spoke in that same neutral tone as before. Alice wasn’t certain but she felt she could see a small softening of the woman’s eyes. “Now, this is Alice. Can you help her feed the thing? I’ve got to go find Olivia and talk to Thorne.”
Drogan stopped mid stride, retracting his outstretched hands and blushing a little. He was about to speak when everyone could hear Olivia’s voice coming from behind the wall.
“Not just a visitor! A Champion! Her Champion!”
The response was drowned out as the entire room erupted in hushed conversations. Eira barked a short, sharp laugh and headed to the back door, stopping on the way to talk to a portly woman wearing a white apron. Grabbing the doorknob, she turned round.
“Nevermind, I know where they are. Alice go with him, Drogan will sort out whatever the cub needs. When you’re done come back, we’ll have a meal and a room ready. I might even do something about the bath.”
—
Alice followed Drogan out of the tavern and back into the storage shed. On the way there he kept gushing about, and at, the cub, while Alice responded when asked a question. Mostly, she kept stealing glances of the man’s physique. She forgot how awkward she could be when facing someone some pretty.
Cheshire meanwhile kept hissing at him, which didn’t deter him at all from trying to endear himself to her. It kept up all the way to the barn, right up until the moment he brought out a flagon of milk, at which point the cubs eyes locked onto the vessel and seemed to forget the world around her. He passed it to Alice, who took it in her free hand.
Mumbling to himself he went deeper into the storage area, coming back moments later holding a small bottle with a leather nipple, and a bundle of herbs. He tried handing both to Alice, then looked at her, one hand holding the kitten, the other the flagon of milk, and reddened, his hands falling beside him.
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“Sorry. Let’s go back and warm the milk. The herbs should help with mana, though we’ll need to work out the right dose or the kitty might overload, they’re quite potent...”
“Oh! That won’t be necessary, I can supply Chess with mana just fine. We just need to fill her belly.” A fairly loud meow came from her hand at that, causing both of the humans to laugh. Drogan did an about face, and going back into the depths of shed he put the herbs back in their place.
“That’s good, kind of unusual, but good. I don’t think she’d like the taste.”
“Why’s it unusual?” Alice asked, curious.
“Why? Well, as you know there’s different types of mana and each—”
“Actually... I don’t know. I know about mana, and what it is, but that’s about it. This is the first I’m hearing of types.” Alice cut in, stopping Drogans explanation.
“You... Don’t? Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who didn’t know, what were you doing in school when it was taught? I remember this being one of the only lectures where all the kids listened.” He said with an awkward laugh. Alice thought for a moment, then responded, a small smirk playing on her face as she did so.
“I went to school a long time ago in a place far, far away...”
“You realise he won’t get that reference, right?” Whimsy said with exasperation. Alice turned away from the man, and whispered, barely audible to even herself.
“Yeah, well you did. And it’s still funny.” Turning back, she realised Drogan was talking.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
“I said, you can’t possibly be much older than me. Especially if you don’t know about mana. I don’t think it’s possible to go through life without at least knowing the basics...”
“Hah! I mean, you’re not wrong there... But you’re also not right. Anyway, it’s rude to inquire about a lady’s age, didn’t your schooling include that?” She said, enjoying teasing the younger man, who blushed fiercely at the comment.
“Sorry.” He said in a small voice hand awkwardly rubbing his neck. OMG, that is too cute, Alice thought to herself. She bumped the man’s side with her own, hoping to reassure him that it was alright, by which point they reached the tavern door again.
—
As soon as they entered the tavern, Alice was immediately dragged by Olivia to a table. Drogan surreptitiously grabbed the flagon of milk, brushing Alice’s hand with his own in the process. Saying he’ll heat it up, he walked behind the bar, presumably to the kitchen.
Alice followed him with her eyes, appreciating the view for a moment. She sat at the chair that another patron, a portly, older gentleman, pulled out for her. Thanking him, she looked to Olivia, opening her mouth to speak.
She shut it almost instantly, blushing furiously as her stomach growled loudly, followed by an annoyed feeling in the back of her mind. That was instantly followed by an equally loud, plaintive meow from Cheshire.
The room wasn’t completely quiet like before, but her stomach was still clearly heard by everyone. Alice just wanted to fall underground and disappear, burning with shame. She was sure Chess’s annoyance detracted some from her, but the self-conscious part of her mind still rebelled.
It was years since she was last in any form of public setting, let alone one where she didn’t know anyone. Her social awkwardness usually wasn’t that bad... Unless it was personal in any way, at which point. Giving a speech in front of strangers? No problem. Playing an instrument in a pub? Sure, sing along too! Being asked a question about her private life or something like this happening? Yeah, nope.
Rescue came from a somewhat unexpected source, as Eira snorted loudly, walking up to her with a steaming plate. Alice’s gaze locked onto the plate, full of potatoes, greens and some kind of steak. Her stomach once again growled, and this time she cared very little for the embarrassing sound. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate a hot meal, let alone so well balanced and delicious looking. Dropping the plate in front of her and handing her a fork and knife, Eira spoke dry humour in her voice.
“Well, if anyone had any doubts about your humanity this probably dispelled them.”
Alice, grabbing the utensils, was about to dive into the meal when she remembered what happened at Whimsy’s house. Calming herself, she daintily sunk the fork in the steak, then cut a small piece of it. She put in her mouth, audibly moaning in pleasure, the followed it up with a scoop of the veggies. She was shovelling the food as fast as she could, without risking damaging anything in front of her of course.
She managed to get halfway through her plate when her connection with Chess sent a clear and strong feeling of annoyance, followed by a small pinch in her ear as the kitten bit her. She put the cutlery down, even though she wanted nothing more than to continue the meal. It was heavenly, whether because she was so hungry or it was so long since last she ad a feast like this, she didn’t care.
Grabbing the panther cub off her shoulder, she picked her up. Holding her with her thumb and forefinger by the scruff of her neck she lifted the kitten in front of her face. Focusing on their connection, hoping to convey the message clearly through it, she spoke.
“I know you’re hungry. But so am I. There’s no point both of us suffering. Your food will be here soon, promise. Not let me eat.” The kitten meowed in annoyance, clearly unhappy about the situation. The thought was clear enough in her head Alice almost could hear the words.
“No fair.”
Sighing, she lowered the kitten to her legs, patting her head as she curled up on her lap. She managed to finish the plate and was about to ask if she could get seconds when Drogan came out of the kitchen. Alice smiled at him.
“Perfect timing. Chess was getting really annoyed with me.” As she spoke, Alice sent the simple thought ‘food’ to the kitten. She was at attention and meowing instantly. Raising her in her arm she took the bottle from Drogan and brought it to the little kits muzzle.
The feeling of happiness that Alice felt coming from the little creature almost made her cry. So much has happened to her in the last few days that she somehow managed to forget how dreadful hunger, true hunger, really was. Feeding the cub she promised her that she’d never be annoyed at her charge’s hunger ever again. And that she’d make sure she always had enough food for her.
Alice was never a parent. In fact, she felt really awkward around kids. It didn’t help that she had very little experience with them, her previous life wasn’t stable enough for thoughts of parenthood. Not that she had anyone to share those thoughts with anyway.
Similarly, the only pet she had, was when she was young enough that her parents took care of it all. She only had vague memories of falling asleep hugging a large grey cat. Still, that was no excuse, and now that she declared herself a guardian, she’d make damn sure she raised to the occasion.
She continued her internal monologue as she the bottle in her hand slowly grew empty. It was almost dry when the little paws pushed it away. Chess lapped a few times, licked her muzzle clean and promptly curled into a tiny black ball, covered her eyes with her tail and fell asleep. Alice looked at her hand for a moment, then lowered the kitten back into her lap and gently slid her into it. The feline didn’t even stir.
Alice was just looking up when another plate of food, much like the first one, replaced the empty one in front of her. Turning to the matronly woman who put in in front of her Alice had a look of reverence in her eyes, making the cook blush slightly.
“I love you.” Alice blurted out, without thinking, causing the woman’s eyes to widen for a second. The shocked expression was quickly replaced by one of joy and mischief.
“I’m taken sweetie, sorry. It’s good to know one’s skills are appreciated though. You think this will be enough?” At the question, Alice focused inwardly, then cringed slightly at the information.
[Energy reserves: 51%]
“Well, that look is a ‘no’ if I ever saw one. I’ll have another plate for you when you finish this one. Don’t worry about it, dear. Most of us been there at one point or another.” She smiled amicably, if someone sadly, with eyes looking somewhere in the past. Alice knew that look, the pang of guilt for eating so much untying a little. When was the last time she could do so? She couldn’t remember. Never again. I also have to repay them somehow. Her thoughts were interrupted.
“Besides, you’re the Champion of Whimsy, right?” Alice nodded silently. “She helped a good chunk of the people here get back to their lives. We would never forgive ourselves if we let you go to bed hungry.”
At that almost everyone in the tavern raised their mugs with a toast, then laughed.
“To Whimsy!”
“You know... It’s been quite a long while since I actually saw the fruits of my work. I forgot how nice it is when someone you helped actually values what you did for them.” Whimsy’s slightly sheepish voice sounded in Alice’s head. Before she could think of a way to respond, the other patrons started coming over to her table.
Alice continued her meal as one by one the other villagers clapped her on the shoulder, asked for a handshake and told the stories of how Whimsy helped them get their minds back in order. Apparently most of them had one horrific experience or another, whether it be during a war or the course of their adventuring career. Feeling broken and desperate, they encountered a priest, priestess or oracle of Whimsy and suddenly they were better. None of them remembered what happened, though Alice suspected some of them simply refused to speak of it, but she had a pretty good idea nonetheless.
Whimsy was a therapist. During their long conversation on the day they met the DI mentioned it. She seemed to gloss over it, however, and sensing some distress Alice didn’t press. She had her own experiences and considering the DI’s history she didn’t want to pull at a scab without knowing if she could help heal the wound under it. This was probably a good start, she thought to herself. Maybe they’d have that conversation at some point in the future.
—
Finishing her fourth plate, Alice sighed contentedly. She thanked Brigid, as she learned the matrons name, promising to repay the kindness somehow. The woman just laughed her off.
Alice opened her mouth to insist, only for long yawn to escape her. Olivia stood up then, she spent the entire evening observing Alice like a hawk, speaking little. Any time she asked for Olivia to relax, the woman just acted selectively deaf and disregarded the requests, even though she hung on every of Alice’s words otherwise.
“Come, come. We have a bath ready, I even brought a fresh robe for you, though the size will not be perfect.” The older woman almost dragged Alice, to the laughter of almost everyone in the tavern.
Over the last hour or two, most of the awkwardness was gone. Most of the villagers were former adventurers or soldiers, it was hard for them to remain chasten when faced with a girl shovelling food away like a half-orc. It helped even more that Alice’s response to someone muttering that comment was to puff out her chest proudly and claim she could drink one under the table, too.
After the second plate the villagers started asking her questions, from where she came from to her life’s story. She gave them a very, very abbreviated version, she met Whimsy several days earlier, they got to talking (Alice was truly thankful for the nature of the world at this point, she simply shrugged and said ‘magic’ and everyone just accepted it, best she could tell anyway), and as she was near the village, Whimsy asked for some supplies, then prompted Alice to come here. Truthfully, she knew some of her answers were obvious bullshit, and she knew most of the patrons, Olivia for sure, knew that too. No one pressed her though and she focused on the fight with the slime and saving the shadow panther.
Standing up after Olivia, Alice excused herself, promised more stories later and followed the Oracle, sleeping kitten in her hands. As they reached the bathroom, Olivia walked in first. Showing Alice the bath she hesitated, then instead of explaining she simply put her hands on the copper vessel and, focusing most her mana, turned on the heating spell. Moments later a herb smelling steam rose. She stumbled a little, the mana expenditure noticeably tiring her, and as Alice came to support her she spoke.
“Thank you, Lady Alice. Don’t worry, I’ll have some mana regenerating tea and I’ll be good as new come morning. Now, please, disrobe I’ll take your clothing to wash—”
“Burn it.” Alice interrupted quickly.
“What?”
“Or use it for rags. I don’t really care.” Alice said dismissively. “Whimsy made it for me, but as you can see, a clothier she ain’t. Honestly, between the slime and the fact it pinched me in places I didn’t know I had places...” Alice sighed, trying to avoid another weird religious moment.
“Just please don’t enshrine them or something silly like that. They were made to do a job. They succeeded. I will find a way to pay for new clothes, for now the robe you provided me will be enough. I’d rather be the weird lady walking around in a sleeping gown or something than keep the abomination she made.”
“Rude. I get it though, I’d probably do the same if I had a body. The closest I got to wearing pants was... Actually, never-mind, you don’t need to know.” Whimsy said with a self-deprecating laugh, piquing Alice’s curiosity. Instead of responding, however, she simply took the kitten and creating a nest out of a towel, she laid her on the side of the room. That done, she took off the rags she was wearing, dropping them where she stood and walking into the bath. As she sunk into the water, she spoke, voice thoughtful.
“Look, Olivia I... Ugh. I promise we’ll have a long talk soon. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon. I’ll answer any questions you might have about Whimsy or what I said. I promise to be completely honest. I can’t however promise it will be an easy talk, nor that you will understand or accept what I say. I also make no promises in regards to how much I know, though Whimsy might be able to answer what I can’t.” Alice turned her head towards the older woman who stood at the door, clothes in hand looking shocked. “Hah, I feel my image of you will forever have that look. Anyway, deal?”
“Yes! Of course!” Olivia seemed to be reinvigorated by the perspective.
“Good. Now, tell me how to clean the bathroom after I’m done, and where my room is. You had a busy day and I feel bad for keeping you up.”
Olivia told her which room was meant for her, but refused Alice cleaning the bathroom on the spot. Alice didn’t argue too much, and after a few more minutes Olivia left her alone. Alice didn’t linger in the bath. She felt herself nodding off in the warm water, and after the third time she decided not to risk falling asleep in the tub.
After drying herself with the simple towel, she found the robe and put it on. Olivia was a head and half shorter, and about a third wider than Alice, making the robe hang on her like a sack of potatoes. Alice sighed, she really needed to get the basics in order, clothing chief amongst them.
Tying her wet hair into a quick, messy bun she scooped up Cheshire and went to her room. Alice put the kitten on one of the pillows on the double bed, lying her head down on the other. She was asleep before the simple blanket could properly settle on her body.