{-Zetai-}
Ornetta kept them in some form of conversation, seemingly whatever she could think of. It was hard to tell whether she did it without thinking, or if it was a conscious effort to try to comfort them. Either way, they all appreciated it in one way or another.
Zetai hadn’t really realized they’d gotten to their destination at all until Ornetta abruptly interrupted their previous conversation.
“Oh, Kesem, dear!” She went up to one of the scholars, pulling him away from his work. “Look, you forgot all of your snacks! And your lunch! I was worried you’d starve to death without them, you poor dear!”
He glanced back at his fellow researchers. Maybe he expected them, or they were supposed, to laugh; instead, most of them just shrugged and carried on with their own work. That didn’t seem to change Kesem’s response, though. “Please, Aunt Ornetta, could you be a little quieter..? I don’t need these, you know…”
“But someone like you is probably doing all kinds of hard work! You got to stay energized! What do you expect me to do? Wait around in the city, when you need my help? Not a chance!” She gave him a big, tight-looking hug, only letting go when he gently pushed her away.
He gestured to the three others. “Aunt Ornetta, are these the adventurers you got to help you?”
“Yes! These three are Zetai, Reynneak, and Tinath. The dears helped me get all the way here. They even held conversations! Not something a lot of the players do anymore.”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Zetai remarked. “All we did was talk a little. That was way better than silence.”
“Even seemingly small things can make a person’s day,” Kesem mused. “Thank you for watching her. I’m afraid she would’ve just tried to make the trip herself, if no one else had offered. Here—this is your reward for helping her. And be sure to come back to this research base soon, too. We might need the help of some adventurers later.”
Reynneak nodded. “We’ll be sure to do that.”
Ornetta looked at them and smiled. “I think it’s just around the time these researchers get lunch. Would the three of you like to join us? If you’ve been running around a lot, you might want a couple of moments to just relax.”
Zetai glanced at the other two then, clear of their likely response, turned back to Ornetta and said, “I think we’ll pass this time. Thanks for the offer, though.”
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Ornetta gave a nod of acknowledgement, then she and Kesem went to the other researchers. It wasn’t long before they must’ve found themselves caught up in a lively conversation, one that might’ve even resembled that of a family.
But the three of them had slightly more important things to talk about than that.
“Do you think Duuzlo’s done by now?” Zetai asked. “It’s been a little while, right?”
Reynneak considered it, then said, “We could probably go back and check, at least. It’s hard to tell how long the quests out here are going to take, but there’s probably a few shorter ones on our way back to the city.”
“It’ll be worth checking,” Tinath decided. “If Duuzlo realizes he needs something, he can’t go to get it on his own. Then we could get it for him and he doesn’t have to leave the three of them alone.”
That was all they were going to say, and they started their way back to the city. It was a stark contrast to the way here; none of the three even spoke a word, let alone did anything that might’ve lightened up the mood.
…
Zetai liked to pretend that there was something good about the fact that everything in the city seemed completely the same. After all, there’d only be a difference if something big or bad happened. But she knew it could probably just be amounted to the fact no one’s let the information slip yet.
Duuzlo was waiting at practically the same spot he’d been in that morning, casually discussing something with an NPC she’d seen around the inn a couple of times. At the very least, it didn’t seem like their conversation was important…
And it was harder to tell whether it was or not when Duuzlo noticed the three of them, because he immediately said goodbye to the NPC and walked over to them.
“Did you enjoy the quest?” he prompted. “At least as much as you could, I hope?”
They all nodded and mumbled some form of agreement. There wasn’t really a chance he was going to get much more out of them, at this point.
“We mostly came back to check on the twins and Casrane,” Zetai explained. “It’s been a couple of hours.”
Reynneak added, “We’ll be more than willing to do something, if you need some help.”
Duuzlo gave them a soft smile. “I commend all of your concern about them, but I assure you, I don’t believe there’s any more reason to be concerned. I’ve done what I could and, if all goes well, it won’t be long before things are back to normal.”
“Does that mean they’re up yet?” Tinath questioned.
“They need to rest for a little bit first,” Duuzlo explained. “What’s happened to them… I suppose you could equate it to getting sick. They need a little while to rest and recover, though I don’t expect it to be long before they’re ready.”
“Is this any better time to talk about what’s happening, then?” Reynneak asked cautiously. “What Nankohm things they have to gain by doing this to the twins and Casrane…”
Duuzlo nodded. “It is, unfortunately, something I’d like to discuss away from here. I’ve already talked with Vamir and he had a room prepared for us. We’ll be able to talk there without worrying about any unwanted attention.”
“Lead the way, then,” Zetai said. “I’m pretty sure we’d all appreciate some explanations for this whole thing. Even if it might not make anything better…”
He led them upstairs and into one of the seemingly-random rooms in the inn. And there, he began to share what he knew about the situation.