Chapter 7

(Argthanaw 15th Year 672 of the 4th Age)

Over halfway to their destination, the party members find themselves saturated when the storm hits. Rain falls at a steady pace from the clouds, and flashes of lightning in the clouds produce rumbles of thunder.

"Dammit, I hoped to beat this storm," Arven bellyaches.

"I don't know why you hate this kind of weather; I find it relaxing," Merrick responds. His hands are behind his head.

"It's calming when I'm inside somewhere that is warm and dry. Though there's one bright side, I thought of just now."

"What's that?"

"You're receiving a shower" As a response, Arven receives a minor zap from Merrick, and he chuckles.

"Very funny, Arven."

The rumbles of thunder continue and strengthen, acting as a source of encouragement to the party to run faster to their destination.

"Do you still have the money dad gave us, Sylfinas?" It dawns on Arven that he and his brother need an alibi.

"No. The Phantom Brotherhood did a superb job searching me and took everything I had the associates deemed dangerous or valuable. Money's still with them, most likely."

"How are we going to explain it to father about the money and why we took so long to reach back home?"

"Just reply that Kaera and Merrick have the money; he doesn't need to know our actual arrangement. If he wants to know why we hired only two people, we answer that Kaera is the equivalent of several people because of her race. As for why we took so long, I don't have it fully figured out. Right now, I'm thinking we found ourselves in a scrap. Don't know with who and for what reason, and I surmise we are all in agreement that we keep the Phantom Brotherhood a secret."

Agreeing with Sylfinas's sentiment, everybody nods their head. They all finally reach Arven's and Sylfinas's home at night, and the rain still falls, but not in a deluge as earlier, although everyone's drenched. Being the first individual on the porch, Arven opens the front door and enters, followed by Sylfinas and everyone else while he holds it open. It quickly becomes apparent that no one besides them is awake, and an aroma draws their attention to the dining table.

"Looks like father's gone to bed, so we need to be quiet and thank the gods he left us some food," Arven says.

"Excellent," Merrick responds enthusiastically as he rubs his hands in anticipation. "After surviving the sewers, I realize that I'm starving and require nourishment."

"I'm famished also," Sylfinas utters as his stomach growls in concord.

"Same," Kaera responds. Her stomach has the most audible growl.

"Let's eat our belated dinner first, and Sylfinas and I can show where the two of you will sleep," Arven suggests.

The food left out is one large pot of beef stew with carrots, onions, and potatoes. The stew has flavor but is cold for obvious reasons. Each person has one serving, with Arven having two servings, Merrick consuming four hefty servings, and Kaera ingesting four voluminous portions. 

"I'm stuffed," she says after she belches.

"After four servings, I hope you are," Arven comments. "Is consuming massive quantities of food a trait common among Fenri?

"It is. The time being prisoner of the Phantom Brotherhood only compounds the desire to eat more; their portion sizes were minuscule."

"So for sleeping arrangements, there's one bedroom completely available for one of you. The other has to sleep with Sylfinas or me in our rooms or crash on the couch; which option will you decide on?"

"I'm fine crashing in your room, Arven," Merrick replies. "Kaera can have the empty bedroom."

"Sound perfect, Kaera?"

"I'm not complaining," Kaera answers.

"Follow us then." The group quietly travels up the stairs and turns left when they reach the top. From there, their destination is on the left-hand side of the hallway. The door creaks open when Arven rotates the doorknob, revealing the empty but clean bedroom, and it contains a bed, a nightstand, and a desk. 

"This is your room Kaera," Arven enunciates.

Not caring about the three men staring at her, Kaera walks in and strips naked, throws the damp clothes aside, vigorously shakes her entire body to remove some water from her body, and sits on the bed looking at them. All three do their best not to stare at her and have an embarrassed look on their countenances, their cheeks turning red. 

"Calm down, you three; I don't care if you see me naked," Kaera utters as she strokes her tail.

"We just didn't want to violate a part of the contract we agreed to," Sylfinas responds.

"Looking at me while I'm nude will not violate any part of the contract. You'll find out when you're about to violate the contract because I will give you a couple of warnings before taking necessary actions. Sleeping without clothing is common in Canir's culture because our clothing and fur give us discomfort while we sleep. When a Fenri gets wet, like me outside during the storm recently, the liquid only multiplies the vexation. Sometimes, we go an entire day, week, year, or lifetime in just our fur. Since we're going to Canir at some point, you three will witness more of that lifestyle. You may even encounter some walking around naked in public.”

"Night Kaera," all three articulate one at a time.

"Night, guys."

The door shuts, and Arven, Merrick, and Sylfinas turn onto the center hallway and walk a few steps. Since his bedroom is the closest, Sylfinas takes the door on the right, and Arven and Merrick take the door on the left further down the hallway.

"Good night," Sylfinas speaks.

"Night, Sylfinas," they both reply concurrently, and both doors shut. After holding it in his hands and inspecting it, Arven throws one of the dead Half-Orc's blades in with the pile of his military items consisting of chainmail, a wooden shield reinforced with some steel insignia of the Adoranian military. His actual sword's absence prompts him to say, "I need to retrieve my sword back."

"What's wrong with the one you have now?" asked Merrick.

"It's not mine. It's from one of the Half-Orcs that we witnessed Pumpkin consumed."

"I'll never think of pumpkins the same way ever again."

"Since it's not my sword, I'm not used to how this weapon behaves. Everything about it, from its balance to the composition materials, is different from my sword. Plus, the military assigned it to me, signifying that I have fully completed training and officially became a member, so there was also value from the memory and significance."

"So it sounds like we're going back to pay them another visit. Oh, joy."

"At some point, yes, but we need everyone here and gather supplies. We also need to come up with a strategy of how to deal with them."

"You do realize that Drow bitch and her crew are a branch of the entire Phantom Brotherhood, so we're disturbing a hornet's nest?"

"I'm well aware of that, but I don't like that one of the branches is operating in the area where we live; they saw our faces, so they'll come after us when they find out that we're alive."

"So to change the subject, what do you plan on doing when you go back to the military before or after completing Kaera's contract?"

"I'm thinking about trying out for the Ebony Legion."

"You're thinking about being one of those Eldritch Knights?"

"I want to follow in the footsteps of my brother."

"Sylfinas? You know he's a pacifist."

"I know he is, and that's a major characteristic about him that I dislike. This other brother was my actual sibling, and he was older than me. With his achievements, numerous people considered him one of the best Eldritch Knights in Adoran's history. He was on the verge of being the youngest person to receive the title of Blade Master."

"What do you mean 'was'?"

"He and his squad were on a secret mission, and something went terribly wrong, so they issued an order to retreat. The mission resulted in a couple of casualties, and he was one of them. Found out about his death on my actual birthday, so that's 13 years ago yesterday."

"Sorry to hear that, friend."

"It's all right. What about you? Have you thought of what to do before or after completing the contract for Kaera?"

"I'm finding a mentor."

"A mentor?"

"Yeah, there's only so much training by myself in the sewers, and I've improved at controlling my powers, but the Phantom Brotherhood proved to me that I still need work. You must've witnessed the Witch Bolt I cast towards the Dark Elf suddenly nosedived from out of nowhere."

"Indeed, I did."

"That could've hit you, Kaera, or Sylfinas instead."

"I doubt it could."

"You know that for certain?"

"Not really, no."

"That's why I need to find a mentor. To make me control my powers so that I don't harm innocent people." Or actually, remove it.

"Where do you think you'll go to train?"

"I don't know. Ideally, it'll be at the Institute of Magics in Grimwick, but the standards of letting people in are for elites and intelligent people only; I lack both characteristics. Whoever can teach me and willing is who I'll stick with."

"You have time to figure everything out. Now's the time to rest and loll ourselves to sleep." Yawning, Arven pulls the blankets over himself and shuts his eyes.

His yawn triggers Merrick to do the same. "You're right. Night, Arven."

"Night, Merrick."

After a stormy night, a calm, sunny morning arrives, and everyone in the house wakes up one-by-one; Kaera is the first to wake up, and she rubs her eyes, vacates the bed, and walks over to the discarded clothes. She's barely underway in dressing herself when she realizes she's in trouble. "Dammit. Not only were these clothes tight to begin with, but the rain also made them shrink. There's no way to put them on now," she mutters to herself after a few minutes of attempts.

In another room, Arven wakes up and leaves bed; Merrick is still asleep and snoring. "Wake up, Merrick." Merrick continues to snore, so Arven claps his hands. "Come on, Merrick. Wake up." He still doesn't wake up; Arven tries shaking him awake. "Time to wake up, Merrick!"

"Yes, I would like to marry your daughter King Bolton," Merrick speaks in his sleep, and he rolls to his other side.

"MERRICK, WAKE UP! PUMPKIN'S HERE, AND IT'S ABOUT TO EAT US!"

"Wha what? Where is it?" Merrick is suddenly awake in terror and covers his hands in lightning, ready to combat the threat. "Wait a second, I don't see Pumpkin anywhere." Irritated by losing one of the rare, pleasant dreams in a long time, he eases his stance and turns off his lightning.

"Rise and shine, Merrick."

"Expect payback in the future, Arven. The king was offering me the throne to the kingdom and marry his attractive princess." Ticked off at the sudden interruption of his dream, Merrick stands on his feet, yawns, and stretches. They both leave the room and head downstairs.

Meanwhile, in the other bedroom, Sylfinas is awake. He stares at the ceiling as he processes recent history before transitioning to the dream last night; this dream is identical to several other fantasies from various nights. In it, he's back at his place from his childhood. The site has a utopian vibe to it; everyone is friendly, and violence never breaks out. Then, everything rapidly ages, and the place, including the population, turns to dust, and the wind blows it away. No way this is some meaningless dream. Hearing the door open from Arven's bedroom and the footsteps going downstairs, he leaves and heads downstairs after a quick change of clothing.

Arven and Sylfinas see their parent when they, and Merrick, reach the bottom of the stairs. "Morning, sleepyheads; I was wondering when you start waking up," he said when he noticed them.

"Morning, father. Do you know what time it is?" Arven asks after he rubs his eyes.

"About 11:20 in the morning, Arven. Apparently, all of you were busy yesterday. I would love to hear all of it over some brunch. Where's the fourth member in your group?"

"What do you mean a fourth member?" Sylfinas inquires, acting innocent.

"I noticed the four dirty bowls that weren't there when I went to bed, and I made a large batch of stew that's now down to barely one full serving. There's absolutely zero chance the three of you on your hungriest days could down that much food in such a short time."

"I'll fetch her," Arven offers and walks up the stairs. Kaera is sitting on the bed when she hears a knock on the door. "You awake, Kaera?"

"I am, Arven."

"Food's almost ready, so you need to head downstairs soon."

"A bit of a problem with that."

"What is it?"

"The clothes I wore yesterday shrunk because of the rain. As a result, it doesn't fit me anymore. I'm not sure how much knowledge your father knows of Fenri and their tendency to sleep naked and sometimes stay nude for a couple of hours after waking up, so I don't want to leave the room until I find a suitable way to cover myself."

"Smart decision. So far, I'm sensing my father's in a terrible mood." Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs behind him, Arven swivels his head and discerns his dad.

"Is she awake?" He asks Arven.

"She is, but she's having a wardrobe problem at the moment."

The bedroom door opens slightly, and Kaera appears out of the opening. "Oh, hello, miss. I am aware that you are having clothing issues, so I'll leave to give you some privacy."

"Actually, can you help me?" She requests Arven's father. "None of the clothes fit me. Do you have any to spare? Also, call me Kaera."

"I do, but I know just from looking at you that they're too small to fit. I have a friend whose wife is a seamstress, and she makes beautiful clothing for anyone of any size and shape. She can custom make a couple for you, but you're going to be nude for a while."

"Is that alright with you?"

"I've been with Fenri before, so I know how they like to sleep. I acclimated to their lifestyle over time."

Upon hearing the tidbit of information, Kaera's ears twitch, and her eyes widen. "You've been with my kind?"

"When I was younger, I became friends with two male Fenri, and we went on adventures together for several years. Then we decided to retire from adventuring and settled down. I believe one of them went back to his home in Canir, and the other settled around these parts of Adoran along with me. He's the one I talked about whose wife is a seamstress, so she's used to designing clothes to fit tall, athletic people. Let's eat first, and I can take you down the road to meet her. Hopefully, she has clothes already made when we reach her domicile. Also, a pleasure to meet you, Kaera."

"That went better than expected," Arven comments as his parent heads downstairs. Concluding that it isn't a trap, Arven and Kaera follow him and sit at the dining table with Kaera next to Merrick, and Arven is beside Sylfinas, both away from the head of the table. Arven's and Sylfinas's parent is in the kitchen and in the process of preparing brunch.

"What happened to the clothes you were wearing, Kaera?" Sylfinas inquires in a low voice, appearing dumbfounded she's nude at the table.

"They shrunk. They were a tight fit to start in the sewer, and the rain caused them to shrink. Now they're too tight."

"You need to find something quick. Their father is in a foul mood, and who knows how he would react if he catches you naked," Merrick comments in a low volume, too.

"He already knows, and he's fine with it," Arven responds without bothering to lower his voice.

"Huh?" Merrick and Sylfinas both make the exact sound louder than they desire.

"Apparently, he made friends with a couple of Fenri when he was young, and they went on adventures together, so he's used to seeing that particular lifestyle of theirs. One of them lives somewhere close to here, and he plans on taking her there because the wife is a seamstress."

"That's surprising to know father went on adventures," Sylfinas comments.

"I find it more surprising that he came across two Fenri outside Canir. We very rarely leave our kingdom," Kaera adds.

"Why's that?" Merrick asks.

"Because the nearby nations have a story about harmful events happening after we arrive at a settlement. For our safety, we tend to keep to ourselves because of that. The only kingdom next to Canir that we maintain the best relations with is Aeyis, so if we want to cross borders, that's where we do it."

"First time hearing the Fenri bringing misfortune to settlements. The only tragedy I've seen from one is the few Phantom Brotherhood members having to fight you."

Kaera smiles and chuckles. "Thanks, Arven. These lands are far enough away that the stories haven't reached here yet."

"Even if they do ever reach here, I doubt it'll stay; Adoran is a terrific kingdom when it comes to treating various races. The only people we have a negative attitude towards are the people in our neighboring kingdom up north called Pheha."

"How come?"

"Adoran and Pheha have been at war multiple times. The Drow live there under the Aletlar Dynasty's reign, and they view other races as simply cattle. There's a wall between them and us, and right now, there's peace, but a delicate one."

"Wait a second. Pardon me for the interruption," Sylfinas intrudes into the conversation and lowers his voice so only those at the table can hear. "The leader in the Phantom Brotherhood branch we barely escaped from is a Drow. Do you think the entire organization is part of Pheha?"

"Hadn't thought about it, but there's a possibility. All the more reason to remove that branch from Belburn as soon as possible.

"How do you suppose we do it, Arven?" Merrick questions.

"When the first opportunity arrives, we head to town and gather supplies and equipment to better arm ourselves. Then it's back to the sewers."

"I vote on avoiding Pumpkin."

"If fortune favors us, combating Pumpkin won't be necessary."

"Ok, people, biscuits and sausage gravy are ready. Help yourselves while it's fervid," Arven's and Sylfinas's father interrupts the dialogue; they temporarily vacate their chairs and load their plates with biscuits and bacon and sausage gravy. "So, what took you two so long to extend your trip last night?" The father inquires when they sit down at the table. "I would think that finding people for help wouldn't be that major of a problem considering the other times I resorted to hiring extra pairs of hands."

"It was slim pickings. Since the festival is in four days, they're assiduous in other preparations," Sylfinas answers. "And the other farms had numerous assistance because of the Darkened Seven."

"Appreciate your answer, Sylfinas, but I want to hear from Arven."

"What do you mean, father," Arven responds, looking up from his plate.

"I just want to know what you were doing while in Belburn."

"Looking for people to hire. Repeating what Sylfinas said, it was an arduous task to find them. It was pure luck that we found Kaera, and she agreed to help us. Did you know that the Fenri is an athletic race, so she is the equivalent of five regular workers?"

"And nothing else to add?" The tone in the father's voice indicates he's not buying the story altogether.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Arven attempts to feign ignorance.

"So, you didn't hang out with Merrick and let Sylfinas do all the work?"

"No. Why would I do that?"

"Because I heard you say that yesterday was the day you two had arranged to meet and hang out, but I needed you for work and because I know you're prone to passing your jobs to your sibling. Since I waited all day for you and him to come back with help, but I went to bed early, and when I roused myself up and saw Merrick here, it's adding up to one possible solution."

"No, father. Merrick and I didn't hang out. Yes, Sylfinas and I split up, but it was to speed up finding people. Yes, I met with Merrick, but it was to tell him that I couldn't hang out. The reason for him here today is because he offered to work for us since we wouldn't force our schedule to work for all the other days I'm here before going to Camp Echo."

"This true, Merrick?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sylfinas?"

"Absolutely."

"And how did you end up meeting Kaera?" To not tip of Arven's and Sylfinas's dad, everyone did their best to show a neutral expression on their faces.

"There was a group of people harassing her near the district where shady people like to live. Before the situation escalated, I played card tricks as a distraction. It temporarily worked, and we both took off, but they quickly found out and managed to cut off our paths and surrounded us. Arven and Merrick came to help us and, much to my dismay, ended up in a fight. In the end, we won and made it out, but we had some solid hits dealt against us, so we went to a temple for some healing magic. As a way of showing gratitude for rescuing her, Kaera agreed to help us on the farm. That's the whole reason why we took so long to come back. Before you ask about the money, I sacrificed every one of it to those thugs as another distraction attempt," Sylfinas answers.

"This true for everyone? Particularly Kaera?"

"Yes," Arven and Merrick respond.

"Couldn't have said it better myself; it's a hundred percent true," Kaera replies.

"Very well. That satisfies my interrogation of all of you. Shame I lost my money, but if that's what it took to retreat as safely as you could, I can't kvetch about that. I'll prepare myself, and I'll take Kaera to meet Aila, Radclyff's wife, to find clothing. Any of you are welcome to join, and as soon as we come back, we'll start working. The festival and cattle auction isn't slowing down in their arrival." The father saunters upstairs, leaving Arven, Kaera, Merrick, and Sylfinas at the table. As soon as he is out of range, they all have a massive sigh of relief.

"Nice save, Sylfinas," Merrick compliments.

"Very impressive," Kaera retorts as she drinks some orange juice.

"Splendid job, Sylfinas," Arven said.

"Appreciate it, you three."

The father appears at the dining table after two minutes. "I'm ready when you are, Kaera. Anyone else coming?"

"I am," they say all at once.

 

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