Loose Ends
Chapter 71
A message arrives from the temple of Pelor, requesting Annori and Ara to deliver a package and a letter to Remington Fletcher once they get to Osta Asari. ‘It’ll be fun seeing him again!’ Annori cheers. ‘And then you can meet him too, Raiden! You’ll love him, he’s great.’ ‘So I’ve heard,’ Raiden says. ‘I wonder if he’ll get along with you,’ says Ara. ‘Hey, I take great pains to be easy to get along with.’ ‘You do?’ Ara asks. ‘I’ve never noticed that.’ ‘That’s because you’re special.’
The group debates on how to travel; on foot, on horseback, or perhaps a carriage? There is also the possibility of signing on for an escort mission to earn some pocket money on the way. Though there is the matter of them being unlicensed adventurers… Maybe that’s worth asking around about. They start wrapping up their business in Anamdael by visiting their ex-toad friend at the Academy. ‘Funny thing,’ says Xadrynk nervously, as he welcomes them into his rooms. ‘Shortly after our previous conversation, it appears someone pulled a, uh, prank on one of the students in a restricted area. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that?’ ‘Not at all,’ Annori lies. ‘It sounds like pranks happen often around here, what with you being turned into a toad and all.’ ‘Right, right,’ says Xadrynk, seemingly convinced. They tell him they’re about to head out of town. Xadrynk thanks them once again for all their help, and assures them they’re always welcome to seek him out if they ever return to Anamdael. ‘By the way,’ says Raiden, remembering another loose end. ‘Do you by any chance know a Niles Candler? We came across his abandoned belongings on the road a while back and his notebook suggests he was a professor here.’ ‘Candler? Oh yeah, he’s with Cosmology,’ says Xadrynk. ‘Melany Schaffer would be the one to ask, probably.’ ‘Thanks,’ says Raiden. ‘Well, see you around, Xadrynk!’ Annori embraces Xadrynk. ‘If you ever want to be turned back into a toad, let me know.’ ‘She can do that?’ Raiden whispers nervously to Ara.‘Ah, no thank you,’ laughs Xadrynk. ‘I quite like being able to use my hands.’
Next, they stop by at Marcius’ place, where they find him and Bree studying together. Bree reports he’s feeling much better and has had no lingering issues from his possession. ‘I’m just happy to be back to my studies,’ he says, quickly glancing over at Marcius. ‘And, you know, just being around.’ When asked about Candler, Bree also mentions the Cosmology department. They have no personal experience with the guy, however; they only ever took Introduction to Cosmology, which was taught by a different professor. ‘How he managed to make an interesting subject into the most boring class ever is beyond me,’ recalls Bree. ‘It was the worst. Once I passed that class I never pursued Cosmology again.’ They say goodbye. ‘Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!’ exclaims Annori from the doorway. ‘So that leaves you with a pretty wide range of options,’ Raiden notes. ‘Boat haunting? Still very much on the table.’ Bree and Marcius exchange a confused look. Ara lingers as his companions depart, and approaches Marcius for a quick sidebar. ‘I would like to ask you for some relationship advice,’ Ara says. ‘Oh! Alright, what do you need?’ ‘I have been… on and off with this man for a little while,’ Ara explains. ‘But things went sideways recently and I’m not sure how to proceed.’ ‘So it’s ended? I’m sorry to hear that,’ says Marcius. ‘I think I ended it,’ says Ara. ‘After I spent the night, they were gone, and they’d left money for me on the table.’ ‘That’s not… great,’ sighs Marcius. ‘It was payment for another job I did for them,’ Ara explains. ‘But still. And I don’t understand why they didn’t just wake me when they had to leave, you know? They just left a note saying it was urgent.’ ‘Urgent how?’ ‘Someone died, I don’t know,’ Ara sighs. ‘But not, like, a relative or anything. It was important for their job to go deal with it.’ ‘Oh,’ says Marcius, getting more confused by the second. ‘Wait, this wouldn’t have anything to do with the rumors about the sudden death of the princess of Nospait, would it? Is this Ambassador Talthanryl we’re talking about?’ ‘Of course not,’ says Ara quickly. ‘They’re way out of my league.’ ‘Right,’ Marcius chuckles. ‘I mean that would be highly unlikely. So have you two talked at all since that happened?’ Ara huffs. ‘Yes. I told them to fuck off.’ ‘I get it, you were angry…’ ‘I have been told that a lot,’ Ara remarks. ‘Then the best course of action is probably to cool off a little before reaching out,’ suggests Marcius. ‘But I want them to reach out,’ protests Ara. ‘I don’t want to seem desperate.’ ‘I’m sure they will,’ Marcius reassures him. ‘If anything, this just seems like a pretty clumsy move on their part, but it doesn’t have to mean anything if you don’t want it to. Try to clear your head, if you can, and I’m sure things will work out.’ ‘I appreciate it,’ says Ara. ‘I am new to this social dynamic and I’m unsure of the rules.’ Marcius smiles. ‘It can be challenging to navigate. But with the right person, that’s all worth it.’ As Ara exits, Marcius turns to Bree. ‘You don’t think I’m desperate, do you?’
‘So, Annori – your druid master,’ says Raiden, as they walk through the hallways of the Academy. ‘Was he a boring teacher?’ ‘Mm, he was alright,’ she replies. ‘He knows a lot about magic and I enjoyed learning. The boring part was that he never really talked about much else.’ ‘That sounds a little lonely.’ ‘I mean, I wasn’t alone – there were some swamp elves I got along with pretty well,’ she reminisces. ‘Compared to living on the streets, it was pretty great! He provided food and shelter and everything.’ ‘Food is pretty great,’ Raiden agrees. ‘How did you learn your magic?’ Annori asks. ‘My magic?’ Raiden repeats. ‘If you can even call it that, I guess. Small tricks. I picked them up from my mom’s book.’ ‘I like your tricks,’ she says. ‘You seem to learn pretty quickly.’ Raiden laughs. ‘To be fair, I’ve been pouring over this book for ten years, so I wouldn’t call it quick by any means. But then I guess the book isn’t technically meant to teach this stuff. It’s about complex magical theory that is way beyond my comprehension. But some of the notes my mom left in the margins pertain to smaller illusory stuff, so I managed to scrape something together.’ ‘So was your mom good at magic?’ Annori asks as they head up a big staircase. ‘She was. Is,’ Raiden corrects himself. ‘She never told me much about her job, but everyone treated her like a highly skilled arcanist.’ ‘Hey, maybe when we’re in Osta Asari you could find some more spell books!’ ‘Yeah, maybe.’ Raiden glances inside a classroom full of students as they pass by. ‘I don’t actually remember if my mom knows magic,’ Annori ponders. ‘What do you remember of her?’ ‘I remember… warm,’ she says slowly. ‘The kind of warmth that gets all around you. She had a lovely singing voice. And there was this feeling that when I was with her, everything was good.’ She takes a breath. ‘What if when I see her again, it feels different?’ Raiden nods. ‘I guess most people have the luxury of having that relationship change gradually over time, instead of facing that contrast all at once.’ They round a corner. ‘But that doesn’t mean it’ll be bad. Just different.’ ‘Yeah,’ Annori sighs. She then perks up a bit. ‘I wonder if your mom and my mom would like each other.’ Raiden smiles. ‘I, for one, am excited to meet her.’
They arrive at the office of Miss Schaffer, who is a human in her mid twenties and appears to be quite tired. She invites them to sit and prepares some tea and coffee for them. ‘What can I help you with? You’re not students of mine, are you?’ ‘We are adventurers,’ says Raiden. ‘And we happened upon the personal belongings of a coworker of yours, one Niles Candler.’ ‘Candler?’ She turns towards them. ‘What… what happened to him?’ ‘We’re not sure,’ Raiden explains, as he lays out the notebook and the other items on the desk. ‘But he’s been away for long enough that the innkeep doesn’t think he is coming back.’ ‘I see,’ miss Schaffer breathes. Her face betrays an array of emotions, from surprise and sadness to a hint of relief. She moves over to the desk and picks up the notebook. ‘Thank you for letting me know. I have been taking over a bunch of his tasks and classes, I guess that job is less temporary than I thought it’d be.’ She looks up. ‘Professor Candler was my mentor,’ she explains. ‘He taught me everything I know. It’ll be strange without him around here.’ ‘I read some of his notes,’ says Raiden. ‘I don’t know anything about the Feywild, but if that’s what he was studying… Doesn’t time pass differently there? Do you think there’s a chance he just meant to pop his head in for a minute and got stuck?’ ‘Perhaps,’ miss Schaffer muses. ‘Though it would be highly out of character for him to venture into the Feywild without his notes. Plus, he’s very aware of the rules, he wouldn’t be caught unawares by them.’ ‘The inn he disappeared at was at the edge of a forest with a bunch of strange magical activity,’ Annori remembers. ‘Maybe the rules were different there.’ ‘Are there people who would want to harm Professor Candler?’ Raiden asks. Miss Schaffer hesitates. ‘I mean, he wasn’t universally liked by his students – he’s been known to take some, um, creative liberties with their work. I’m sure some folks resent him for that. But enough to harm him…?’ ‘Or maybe someone played a prank on him,’ Annori offers. ‘That seems to happen a lot here. Like when Xadrynk was turned into a toad and abandoned in that temple.’ ‘I’m sorry?’ Schaffer inquires, a little shocked. ‘Oh yeah, that’s what he told us had happened at least,’ Annori explains. ‘Something with potions. He was in there for a while.’ ‘That sounds like more than a prank,’ Schaffer notes in disbelief. ‘Perhaps I should look into that. Xadrynk, you said?’ ‘Oh, he’s fine now,’ Annori adds hastily. ‘We fixed him and now he’s back working on his graduation.’ ‘Right,’ Schaffer mumbles. ‘Either way, thank you for letting me know about Professor Candler. I appreciate you taking the time to drop off his things.’ ‘No problem,’ says Raiden. ‘Thanks for the coffee. Based on how strong it is, I suppose I should wish you luck with the rest of the semester.’ Ara, meanwhile, experiences his first cup of coffee, and is altogether unimpressed.
The next stop on their goodbye-tour is Master Valms apothecary. As soon as he steps foot inside the store, Ara notices some shelves that are poorly stocked. ‘I know, I know,’ says Valm, as he comes to greet them. 'Don’t worry, I’ve put in the orders, there’s just been a delay with the delivery.’ He looks around. ‘You brought your friends this time.’ ‘We’re leaving town soon,’ says Ara. ‘Thought I’d say goodbye.’ ‘I see,’ says Valm. ‘Well, it’s been nice to have someone to talk to about home. Thank you for indulging an old man.’ ‘Could you ever be convinced to return to the swamp?’ asks Ara. Valm brushes away some dried leaves from the counter. ‘It’s complicated. But it’d be nice to have the possibility.’ ‘Yeah,’ sighs Ara wistfully. ‘Well, I’ll make sure to tell my dad about you. That way, if you ever do return, you can get some free stuff from his workshop.’ Valm smiles. ‘I appreciate the gesture.’ He looks at Annori and Raiden, who is browsing shelves in the background. ‘You all stick together now, alright? Trust each other.’ ‘We’ll try our best,’ says Annori. ‘Though one of us already left, and another is… Are you still on friend parole, Raiden?’ ‘Last I checked, yeah!’ Raiden replies. ‘Damn, I really thought we ended that already,’ Annori whispers to Ara. ‘Good luck on your travels,’ says Valm. ‘If you’re ever back in town, do stop by.’ As they leave, Annori lingers behind and places a gold coin on the counter. ‘Thank you again for looking out for Ara,’ she says. ‘If it weren’t for you, I think he’d be much worse off.’ Valm pushes the coin back to her. ‘No need for that. It may be on your shoulders now to keep this group together. It isn’t a fair thing, but I wish you the best all the same.’ Annori smiles awkwardly. ‘Yeah, we’ll try to save the world, I guess.’ ‘It’s not about saving the world, I think,’ says Valm, as he watches Ara walk away. ‘But I hope you all find out what’s been going on. If swamp elves are going to be part of this world again, and I personally very much hope we do, we will need to find a way to exist in it without being swallowed by it.’ ‘We’ll do our best,’ Annori promises. She takes back the coin and hands Valm a granola bar instead, which he is pleased to accept.
At the temple of the Wildmother, Annori updates her deity about everything. When she shares her nerves about reuniting with her mom, she feels embraced by a pleasant warmth – not trying to imitate her mothers memory, but to amplify it.
‘I think the friend parole thing is over,’ says Ara as he and Raiden pack their travel bags. ‘Oh,’ says Raiden, surprised. ‘You sure?’ ‘Yeah, you did pretty well. With the Candler business, it was clever to follow up on that lead.’ ‘Thanks,’ says Raiden, wrapping up pairs of socks. ‘Well, you told me to make a plan, so I obliged. I feel like that’ll get easier once we’re in Osta Asari – I know that place.’ ‘Does that mean people will know you there?’ asks Ara. ‘Uh, yeah,’ Raiden replies. ‘Maybe. Probably.’ ‘Are you gonna be in trouble?’ ‘No!’ He thinks for a second. ‘Nooo… Hm? No.’ ‘Well, I’m reassured,’ says Ara. ‘I just haven’t given it much thought before,’ Raiden explains. ‘I don’t usually return places. But I don’t believe I’ve done wrong by most people who knew me there. Aside from disappearing on them, I suppose some folks weren’t too pleased with that.’ ‘Who were you back when you lived in Osta Asari?’ Ara asks. ‘Oh, loads of people,’ says Raiden. ‘I worked at a tavern for a pretty long time. Did my first jobs for the Copper Syndicate. And I was a merchants assistant for a bit. It’s a big city, easy to live multiple lives in.’ ‘Do you think “Raiden” will be your adult name?’ Raiden considers this for a second. ‘I think so? It feels right, I think. To stick with something for once.’ ‘You’re lucky – elves only get to pick one new name in their lifetime,’ says Ara. ‘Why?’ Ara sorts his belongings by size on the bed. ‘We choose our name once we learn who we truly are. And we spend the first century of our lives figuring out who that is.’ ‘That’s pretty nice,’ says Raiden. ‘But what’s stopping you from re-learning who you are, in, I don’t know, another couple centuries from now?’ ‘That’s just not how it works,’ states Ara. ‘There’s a whole ritual. My mother chose an archery contest.’ ‘Amazing,’ says Raiden, carefully wrapping up his razor. ‘Did she win?’ ‘Of course, she picked the contestants.’ Raiden laughs. ‘So what was your ritual like?’ ‘I haven’t had mine yet,’ Ara states. ‘Oh,’ says Raiden. He looks up at the swamp elf. ‘Does that bother you?’ Ara takes a second to answer. ‘Not the fact that I’m late. I’m not entirely sure I have figured out who I am yet.’ ‘I can relate,’ exhales Raiden. ‘But the fact that my community deemed me to not be ready… stings. And now I’m away, so who knows how long it’ll be until they can reconsider.’ ‘Hm,’ hums Raiden. ‘Though I guess it gives you time to plan your ritual.’ ‘I would like for it to involve fist-fighting,’ declares Ara. ‘I’d love to get a good punch in on my mother.’ Raiden chortles. ‘That would be very fitting, I’d say.’ ‘What would you want your naming ritual to be like?’ ‘That’s a good question,’ Raiden ponders, stuffing rations into his pack. ‘I guess I’d have to figure out what I like.’ ‘Perhaps we can all give this some thought on the road to Osta Asari.’ Ara looks over at him. ‘We should really focus on the packing, though, cause those rations are mine and you need to give them back.’
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