Chapter 10 : Reunion

"Honey, you're home. Where have you been? Did you run into trouble again?"

Her mother's sad and tired little smile turned into an expression of concern, then full on confusion.

"You look different.", then she wrinkled her nose, adding, "But you smell quite bad."

Zhoey sat down on her mother's rather short improvised bed in the small shed. She was still caked in mud and filth aside from the fingers which she had cleaned in the snow, but her mother had perhaps seen through the disguise.

"Don't worry about it. I've brought some bread and water. I think you'll like it.", she said, placing a loaf of bread and a canteen on the layered blankets that kept the cold away.

Zhoey knew her mother hadn't eaten while she was gone. In fact, they had been low on food this whole week. Her mother sometimes did some easy crafting work earning a few copper, but without any legs she was quite limited.

"Oh my, this bread looks amazing. When did you learn to bake Zhoey?", she jabbed, knowing full well that her daughter probably nabbed it from a food stand.

No matter how bad things got, they'd often joke and play little pranks on each other to keep their spirits up. This time Zhoey would make a very special joke.

"Oh my goodness... Oh my goodness this is great."

Zhoey grinned at her mother chewing wildly, inadvertently letting her perfect teeth show.

"Zhoey... what happened?"

"I really do smell – I should go wash up, this is a special day. Please drink this medicine. Do it in one go and don't spill any. It's expensive. It will help with the phantom leg pains."

Zhoey promptly left after leaving a healing potion on an old empty crate serving as both nightstand and crafting table. She washed up in a nearby stable which had a well. The water was very cold but did not bother her. When she returned to the dilapidated shed her mother was standing awkwardly stomping and in complete disarray. Her pants looked comically short now, revealing naked calves and feet which took all of her attention.

"What the hell Zhoey these are legs! I grew legs!"

"Probably took out a few wrinkles, too.", Zhoey added after taking in the sight for a while, finally attracting the attention of her mother.

Her mother stood silent, frozen, staring at her beautiful daughter, free from disease.

"Happy birthday, mom. I love you.", Zhoey said, choking slightly from pent-up emotions.

It wasn't actually anyone's birthday, though, it was just something dumb they said on the rare occasions something good happened. It took them both twenty minutes to stop crying and hugging. Zhoey had tried a few times to recount what had happened during the day, but she just made a mess of it.

As it was getting dark they decided to light a little candle that they had been saving. In candlelight illuminating the cramped shed, Zhoey eventually managed to lay out a strange series of events. Given what had just happened to her legs, her mother seem to have no trouble believing all of it, but she made many strange faces.

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After sitting silent for a while, Zhoey looked at her mother with a wicked expression.

Thama Garnet, Commoner, Level 6

"You know that part in the story where I wondered if things could possibly get any better?"

She then made a pill and the 100 silver appear out of nowhere.

"Oh, that's so much money! Is that the ring's doing?"

"Yes. I want you to eat this, too.", Zhoey said firmly, pushing the pill forward with a finger.

"Does it make me grow more legs? I think two is quite enough."

"Just eat it, mom.", Zhoey rolled her eyes.

Then she watched with anticipation, observing her mother's face as she dutifully swallowed the pill.

Thama Garnet's eyes opened wide in surprise but appeared focused elsewhere.

"This thing... it's from when I got my ability! Aah! A new one appeared! It's Minor Heat resistance. Do I keep it? What do I do?"

"Definitely keep it."

"Ok. I did it. Wait- it happened again! Another one one appeared! It's something called Evaluate. It... uh, allows me to estimate the value of merchandise?"

"Keep it."

"It's not stopping – I just got another one! It's Minor Strength."

Zhoey sighed a bit, since she had it as a scroll already.

"Well, keep that too."

"Are you sure? These can be sold for a lot of money I hear."

"Very well. Oh, I think they stopped coming. Oh, oh, I just noticed I'm level 20."

Zhoey quite enjoyed taking in the face of her bewildered mother. Then she took out a second 6000 experience pill and placed it on the surface between them.

"Are you pulling your poor mother's regenerated legs right now?", Thama gasped, making the candle light flicker.

Zhoey just stared her mother down.

"Here we go then... Ah, this time I got Alchemy. Says it's beneficial for professions like potion making and, uh, chemistry something. I took it. Now I'm level 27."

"See if this one brings you over level 30 then.", Zhoey grinned, taking out the third and last 6000 experience pill.

Thama opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it, then she opened it again, stuffing in the pill.

"Charisma. Took it. Wrinkles gone? And I'm Level 31."

She narrowed her eyes to and give her daughter a stern look, and the aforementioned wrinkles temporarily returned.

"So is it over? Are we done?"

"Well, yea."

At that her mother seemed almost relieved, perhaps wanting a respite from all the excitement.

"Wait, no. I almost forgot".

Zhoey brought out the three scrolls she had been saving. Master Smith, Gauge and Minor Strength. At that her mother huffed out so much air the candle went out and Zhoey noticed they were down to their last match. She lit it and looked into the fire.

"I don't think I want to be a smith and you're more of a crafts person, so you should use this. The other two would be completely wasted on me and we aren't selling them."

Thama sighed, picked up the first scroll, then looked briefly confused before managing to accept it's effect. The scroll disappeared burning with a strange blue flame.

When she finished the final scroll, Minor Strength, she frowned.

"Nothing happened. No message."

"Aww, that's a bummer."

Thama leaned forward, as if to close the conversation.

"Well, I'm going for a short walk to clear my head, and you know, actually walk. And do the thing."

When Thama got up she held onto the corners of the crate, unwittingly crushing the wood.

"Oh."

"Yea, be careful with your new level, mom. Don't launch yourself into the air when you get back up from squatting."

They later spent the rest of the evening making plans for tomorrow, and perhaps the rest of their lives. Having eaten the bread, neither of them were the least bit hungry for the first time in recent memory.

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= End of Book 1 =