After brunch, Amelia wandered around, generally just making sure everybody had what they needed and that there weren't any problems. She watched Alder's game for a while, amused as Kori, a couple of the other spiders, and several of the goblins played make-believe ogres defending a run-away princess from adventurers. They seemed to be having a terrific time, and their antics had drawn a large crowd to watch.

After observing for a little while, she continued her amble, waving to Timon and Briar. The crocodile man had never seen a real garden before, and Briar had taken great delight in showing him around. They were currently digging out weeds, looking very rustic in wide-brimmed straw hats and dark glasses to protect them from the sun overhead.

There was some sort of conference going on at one of the tables in the gazebo. Bill was discussing something in great depth with a mixed crowd composed of both the Elara visitors and hollow inhabitants. She saw Nic, Cleon, Quiet, and Tuuka, one of the hags, and quite a few whose names she hadn't learned yet. Whatever they were talking about, it seemed pretty serious, so she gave them a wide berth. No need to interrupt them.

She almost tripped crossing the yard, as Shock came tearing past, doll gripped in her mouth, pursued closely by both Fern and Whisper. The dog's claws kicked up puffs of dirt and grass as she raced away from the two, right between Amelia's legs, then disappearing into the underbrush at the edge of the yard. She teetered a bit as she regained her balance, wondering what that was all about. Usually, the chasing went the other way around after the terrible twosome had played a prank or something.

Amelia shrugged to herself. No telling what that group was up to. But seeing the underbrush swaying from their passage reminded her that she hadn't done her rounds of the paths recently. So she retrieved her bill, a rake, and a big bag from the shed, then headed out. It was rare that anything major ever needed to be done, but it was a good excuse to wander the woods and explore. No matter how many times she ventured out on the various paths, there was always more of the hollow or its inhabitants to see, which she loved.

More and more of the secretive dwellers were opening up to her, as well. When she first came here, at most she'd get a feeling of being watched or a cold prickle that would make her change course or avert her gaze. Now she regularly exchanged waves and 'alright?'s, and fairly often stopped to chat or have a cuppa. It was a very pleasant change. She'd give scritches and head pats to the crocottas and bears. The kelpies and nuckelavee liked carrots or oats, which she always had on hand. Since truffles all but leapt out of the ground as she passed, she usually had a pocketful of those as well, which she always shared with anybody she came across. It was more like a walk through a pleasant community than a ramble out in the woods, when she came to think about it. The hollow was practically rammed with people living here, but she suspected that very few would ever notice them. Even the group of goblins and dwarves in the cottage weren't very obvious, as they mostly worked in the workshops in the backyard or the tower, and spent much of their leisure time in the warrens or the lounges, away from casual visitors.

Briar and the group gaming with Alder were usually all most ramblers would see unless they knew where to look, or hung around for very long. Regardless, anyone who visited the hollows always got the feeling it was someplace special, and there was never a problem with littering or vandalism. Which was good, because she really didn't want Beige or Blue to take matters into their own hands. No matter how cute their little bird forms were.

"Thanks for the tea, Mr. Ainsley! I'll make sure to send Timon and Cleon your way when they finish gardening and stuff. Hope you guys have a good sing-along!" She waved and closed the door behind her. The wrinkly old man lived below a ruined tower on one of the hills deep in the woods. She wasn't sure if it was a folly or a real ruin, but the rooms he had underground were cozy and nicely kept, if a bit old-fashioned. They reminded her of her Gran's house from years ago. Although she didn't have a display of vintage pole-arms and hats like he did, that was for sure.

There was a path that was mostly in Megrim that you had to follow to get out of this section of the hollow. The trees here grew very closely together, and the undergrowth was extremely dense. Without the path, it would be impossible to pass, unless you chopped your way through. But if you knew the trick, the trail was quite nice, and she liked how it wended through some very scenic spots, even if you did have to watch out for brambles to either side in places.

She finally made her way back to the yard several hours later, having only had to do a little maintenance. Although, she supposed, keeping in touch with everybody was its own sort of maintenance, if you thought about it, and she'd done quite a bit of that.

The meeting in the gazebo had broken up by the time she returned, but there were smaller knots of conversation dispersed around the yard. She wondered what everybody was so enthused about, but was careful not to pry. If they'd wanted her to know, they'd have invited her, so she didn't worry about it. She waved as she passed, and returned her tools to the shed. Now that it was in front of the cottage instead of around back, it was a lot easier to get stuff in and out of it. Little changes like that added up, she thought, dusting her hands off.

"Excuse me, missy. Got a moment?"

"Sure, Tuuka! What's up?"

The dwarf had approached her as she emerged from the shed, looking a little on edge. He scratched at his beard for a moment and didn't quite meet her gaze. She waited patiently and smiled encouragingly at him.

"Well, missy, here's the thing. You've been more than generous to us, and I hate to ask even more of you. Doesn't seem right. But we've been talking to these Elarans, and it got me thinking. We need more hands around here. Tyni needs help in the kitchen, I could use help in the brewery, and we really need help in the mine. I mean, we don't have to do any of those things, but we want to, and to do 'em right, we need more folks. And there are a lot of folks that don't have a place to go to, you know? I thought maybe the Elarans would be staying, but they say they gotta get back before too long, or things will go bad for their families and friends. I know how that is." He paused for a moment and stared down at his feet for a moment. Then he squared his shoulders and met Amelia's eyes. "So, I'd like to go back to where I used to live. There were many more where we came from, and if you'll have 'em, I'm sure they'd be grateful. But I wanted to make sure it was okay with you. Your place and all." He dropped his eyes as soon as he said the last, and braced himself.

Amelia shocked him by giving the dwarf a big hug. She could feel the tenseness in his body at first, but after a few seconds, he relaxed. "Of course, Tuuka! Of course! As long as they're fine with living in the cottage or underground, we have oodles of room! Heck, we could fit a city in that cavern, and you guys haven't even really gotten started on it! It'd be doing me a favor, honest! Bert is so full of energy, I need to make a ton of new rooms, but they all have to be used, or it doesn't count."

"Are ye sure, missy? It's a heap of folks. I'll vouch for 'em, but it's your home, after all."

"You mean our home. I'm just the caretaker! Gran said she didn't mind me having friends live here. She said she liked the idea! So go bring 'em, you big lug! To our home!"

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He breathed oddly for a moment, and Amelia realized he was choking back sobs. She patted his back and held him until he composed himself. When he stepped back, his eyes were red, and there were tear tracks on his face.

"You don't know what that means to me, Caretaker. To us. We'll do right by you, I swear!" He formed his fist in some complicated gesture and held it out at arm's length for a moment. Amelia realized it was a form of salute, but she had no idea what the proper response was. So she did the first thing that came to mind.

"[Water Jet]! There! You deserved that! This is a place of fun! None of this, 'do right by me' malarkey. As long as you guys are having fun and aren't a nuisance, you're 'doing right by me'. I mean it! Don't make me squirt you again, you goof!" She pointed her finger warningly, but her happy smile belied her serious tone.

Tuuka held up his hands in mock surrender, water dripping off his facial hair. "Mercy, missy! Mercy! I'll obey, no need to get rough!"

She laughed. "But really, Tuuka! Anybody you think will fit in here, invite 'em. We'll make room, one way or another. I'm pretty sure this place was some sort of refuge before I got here, and I like that idea. A place for people that don't have one, you know?"

He nodded. "That is a good goal, missy. I'm proud of you. Not many would use the power you got like that. Your Gran must be proud."

"I hope so! I haven't written to her recently, so I probably should let her know. She did mention visiting before too long, but that was quite a while ago, now."

"I look forwards to meeting her! It'll be an honor!"

"She'll love you! Just share a little of that brew you keep in your flask, and I'll bet you'll be best of friends!" She winked.

"Oh, a fellow lover of the spirits? Grand, missy, grand!"

----------------------------------------

"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?"

"Yeah, unfortunately." Nic answered. The ratman was the de facto leader and spokesrat of the group. He shuffled his feet a bit, glancing down at them. "We've probably been gone too long as it is. Elpis' report us, if nothing else. So we gotta get back. Life of a peon, you know. But your crew here has given us a bunch to think about. You too, for that matter." He exchanged glances with Bill and Tuuka.

"Just remember, together you guys are strong!" Bill said, raising a fist up near chest level, thumb outermost. The skeleton repeated the gesture, as did Tuuka and several others in the crowd.

Amelia turned to look at her friend, curiously. "Did you guys start a cult or something, Bill? Anything I should know?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Nah. I just was telling 'em about unions, and labor relations, things like that. Learned a lot about life under a 'real' dungeon master, and life as a contracted agent." He looked over at Lark, who was perched on the top stone of the trilithon, ready to open the portal for the returnees. "Spent a bunch of time talking to Lark and Alder, and these guys. Turns out dungeon masters don't have absolute power. A lot, mind you, but not absolute. We talked about strength in numbers, organizational psychology, guerilla warfare, those kinds of things. You know, light conversation." He gave a weak smile and a half-shrug.

"You've shown us things could be better, and Bill has told us ways we might make it happen. So like I said, lots to think about."

"Huh. I figured you guys were just arguing about who'd win in a fight, Gandalf or Dumbledore, or something like that."

"Gandalf. He's a maia." replied Bill instantly.

Tuuka grunted and shook his head. "Not this again, okay? And I still say it's Dumbledore."

Picker cleared his throat meaningfully, but he shared a nod with Bill.

"Right! Must get going! Thanks again for letting us visit, and all the lovely food and gifts! We'd say you should come visit us again, but that'd probably be ... unwise. You guys were really lucky last time. You know?"

"Got it. Well, you're always welcome back here! As is anybody you guys vouch for. Any time, long as you want."

The rat bowed deeply, then raised his balled fist in the complicated salute he'd given earlier. All of his kinfolk did the same, as did Timon. The spiders and Cleon just bowed, not having the fingers for the gesture.

Amelia raised her hand in the fist like Bill had done.

"Stronger together?"

It was impossible to tell if Nic was smiling, having no lips, but she got that impression.

"No, Ma'am. More like, 'Good book by the fire, snack and a bevvy!'" He said the last quite seriously, and Amelia wasn't sure how to take the statement.

He lowered his hand, then hefted the large sack he had, as did his companions. Like all the finished goods Bert made, they'd disappear fairly quickly once they left the realm but would last long enough for the visitors to get home. The food, tools, and other gifts, however, had been crafted by the residents of the hollow and would last. Amelia wasn't sure what all they'd been given, besides the booze and snacks she'd seen Tyni and Tuuka preparing, but all the goblins and dwarves had spent the last day furiously crafting things in their various spaces. The print shop had been particularly busy, and she now had an inkling what they might have been up to.

"Well, I hope things improve. You guys deserve a nice, uh, life, too. Take care of each other, okay?" She knelt down and hugged the ratman. Then proceeded to embrace each of his companions, valiantly suppressing the willies she got hugging Zoe, the spider she still thought of as Shelob.

There were many of the residents of the hollow present to see the Elarans off, and they all embraced or shook hands / limbs / paws / et cetera as Lark started her song. The powerful trill cut through the babble of goodbyes and well-wishes, and there was a brief flare from the stones as the way was opened.

"Bye! Come back when you can! Take care!" Amelia called as they filed through the stones, each waving before entering and being transported to the other realm.

"I hope all goes well with 'em." Bill said solemnly, still looking at the portal as the crowd started moving out of the grove en masse.

"Yeah, me too. Between some of the stories Nic told me and the stuff I've heard from Donald, it's really rough in some of the realms. I guess I thought all of them were cool like Whimsy and the Night Market, but I guess not."

"They are not all bad, Caretaker. Every realm has its problems, but most are still good places to live. The bad ones, though, can be terrible." The bird cocked her head as she eyed Amelia. "How is the seed you bonded with doing, by the way?"

"Donald? He's fine. I think Bert and him are good influences on each other. Mostly. They're sharing toys, which is a good start. And I'm not getting pestered to establish a domain anymore or to unleash things. He does want to expand, but I think that's more force of habit than anything."

"I see. That is ... unexpected. But welcome. All of us can strive to overcome the circumstances of our birth, or of past misdeeds. That one ... has a lot to strive for."

"Yeah. I think he's mellowing a bit. I'm trying to think of ways he can help atone for some of his, um, well, 'excesses' seems too piddly a word, but you know what I mean."

"Indeed, Caretaker, indeed. That is a worthy goal and a good use of your time. I commend you."

"Aww, thanks, Lark! That's nice to hear! Glad you think so. And if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!"

Amelia held out her arm, and the bird flitted over to land on it, then walked up to her shoulder. Whisper lifted momentarily from her nest on the girl's head, then settled down when she saw who the new passenger was.

Tuuka hadn't been kidding about wanting to go recruit others and had decided there was no reason to delay. Amelia made her way towards the front gate of the property, where the dwarf and Picker were already waving to the crowd that had relocated there to see the two off.

"All right, you two! You better come back soon, and in one piece, okay? No excuses, or it will be the water jet for you, get me?"

"Righto, missy! We'll be back, don't you worry. We might send a few on ahead of us, though, so don't be surprised if some start showing up without us."

"I seem to recall you guys telling me to be real secretive about this place. What changed your mind?"

The dwarf guffawed, and even Picker found the question amusing. "That was before we met the locals. And besides, you've changed yerself, girl. That goat told us about your encounters with him. I suspect you don't have anything to worry about from somebody like Reginald these days." He continued chuckling at the thought.

"Well, I guess I can crash the truffle market if it comes to that. And Pancake is gonna teach us a shield spell next class, so I got that going for me. If I could get him to share that 'wall of water' spell, I'm sure I'd be unstoppable!" She grinned. "All shall tremble before my might, and surrender their toffee, or else!"

The goblin rolled his eyes but grinned along with Tuuka and the others. The two hefted their packs and got hugged in turn.

"Be safe, okay?"

Both of them bowed slightly and held up their fists in the gesture Nic had made.

"Good book by the fire, snack and a bevvy!" they intoned together, wide smiles on their faces.

"I am never gonna live that down, am I? I'm so gonna get that goat ..."