“Far too many people take things for granted. Many failed to realize that gratitude needed to be earned, rather than be something you are entitled to. The same applied to concepts like respect, acknowledgement, and familiarity.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.
“Thank you, truly, once again,” said the young dwarven mage when Aideen and Celia returned to the caravan. The young female mage was laid out on a bedroll, where she was recuperating from the fatigue of having drained her mana reserves repeatedly in a too-short period of time. Even so, she still tried to raise herself to thank Aideen when she saw her arrival.
“You’re welcome. And take it easy. I’m afraid nothing I can do would help with mana fatigue,” replied Aideen slightly apologetically as she kept the young dwarf from rising by pressing down on her shoulder with one hand. While she was at it, Aideen coursed her magic through the young female dwarf’s body and fixed what little injuries she had suffered from in an instant. “Afraid you’ll have to tough this one out, sorry.”
“Eh, ain’t gonna be my first bout,” replied the dwarven woman with a smile that peeked through her bushy beard. For a young dwarf – probably still in her first century, early second century tops, as far as Aideen could tell – the mage was a spry one considering the life threatening situation the caravans had just been in. “Nothing a barrel of good booze wouldn’t fix. I’m more surprised you two were so willing to play bait for that, unliving or not, that’s gotta sting.”
“Like you, that wasn’t my first time either,” replied Aideen with a smile. “Not exactly new to getting blown up, I’m afraid. Though I guess I couldn’t exactly say the same about her,” she added, gesturing towards Celia. “I think that was the first time she experienced being blown up like that, at least as far as my knowledge goes.”
“Horrible experience, would rather not do it ever again,” replied Celia in a deadpan voice, trying to jest a bit to take her mind off the absurdity of the situation. While Celia had been unliving for decades now, being blown up like that and reduced to a charred, way overdone carcass was definitely a new experience for her. “I really ought to get something that can deal with creatures like those.”
“I mean, I used to bring some Dragonfire Brew with me for that exact purpose, but I’ve ran out of them decades ago,” interjected Aideen. “If you want, I can get you a batch when we return to my homeland in a while, but I don’t think you’d like them too much either way.”
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“How so?” Celia asked with obvious curiosity in her voice.
“They do the job by blowing up violently, and since I doubt either of us can throw them that far, we’d be well within the explosion radius when they went off,” explained Aideen with an amused grin. A grin that was mirrored by the young convalescing dwarven mage, while Celia’s face fell at the same time. “They’re highly effective, but best used from inside something, so the best way to use them kinda entails getting eaten and then blown up.”
“Guess that’s a no, then,” said Celia with slumped shoulders.
“Oh, I’d still suggest you bring a batch around for emergencies. You lack the ability to regenerate your body on the spot, though, so you can’t really abuse them that much,” said Aideen in explanation. She then turned to the female dwarf once more, giving her one final check before nodding her head in satisfaction. “All right, other than the mana fatigue you shouldn’t have any problem, miss…?”
“Oh, right, where are me manners?” said the dwarf with some exasperation. “Marivella Bronzmeier, at your servive, ma’am.”
“Oh, you’re from Knallzog?” Aideen asked. The dwarf’s last name was a telltale sign, as she used the spelling from an older language most dwarves no longer used. Out of all the dwarven kingdoms, the Kingdom Down Under only used that language in the name of their royal family, but it was still commonly used amongst the dwarves of Knallzog. Given that the dwarven mage’s appearance did not exhibit the telltale features of the royal family Down Under, Aideen naturally guessed she was from Knallzog.
“Born and bred there, ma’am. I’ve been traveling with me uncle’s caravan and seeing the world this past decade,” replied the dwarf cheerfully. “Many thanks again for your help. He was already tearing his hair out worrying over going bankrupt before you came to our rescue.”
“He’s more worried about going bankrupt than… well… dead?” asked Celia from the side with some bafflement in her voice.
“Uncle Jonas ain’t a bad man, but he could be a bit obsessive about money at times. Not blaming him, he grew up poor and got his current wealth through centuries of hard work,” replied Marivella. “Anyway, thanks again, ma’am. You’re headed to the Kingdom Down Under, methinks?”
“Yeah, probably going to stay there for a few years,” admitted Aideen openly. She saw no reason to refuse if someone wants to make their goodwill or gratitude known, and from the way Marivella asked, she likely had that in mind. “Why?”
“Uncle runs a series of inns in the border hamlets. You can use this token and stay for free in them,” said Marivella as she fished out a token the size of a large coin out of her own storage artifact. “Please consider it a token of our gratitude.”
“Will do, then,” replied Aideen as she took the token. On one side it had a sign that looked like a bonfire flanked by two flagons that had ale splashing out of their openings, probably the symbol used by the inns. “Thanks for this.”
“It’s the least we can do, ma’am,” replied the young dwarf with a smile. “If you ever have any need for some rare merchandise and happen to be in any city with one of our inns or trading posts, you can show that token and uncle will look for some for you, with the highest priority.”