Once everyone had a chance to rest and rehydrate, we climb back down the well. Let me tell you, it was an undertaking getting my parents down the old ladder since they were still having trouble moving around on their own. But we managed and Riversong led the way once more while I helped mother walk and Willow helped father, now that he no longer needed to be carried. It was an uneventful walk down the dark tunnel, but that's preferable; if there were enemies down here we'd have big problems. Once we made it to a dead end Riversong pushed on a secret switch to his left and the door to the basement opened, letting us into true safety once more.
It was well after midnight at this point so I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that Arnold had gone to bed, but his butler was waiting in the room and once we'd all filed in he bid us wait a moment while he fetched his master. The furnishings for the room were sparse, but we settled my parents into a couple of simple wooden chairs and then simply waited. I'd used all of my higher level spell slots on that mission so I was magically tired and took the opportunity to rest gratefully. Looking around at everyone I could tell that we were all worn out, except for Izzy, who had paced herself considerably during the mission. Even Riversong looked a little tired, but then again he had used a ninth level spell slot for Shapechange.
We didn't have to wait long before Arnold came striding through the door. He took a quick glance around and then got a big, almost child-like grin on his face. “It looks like mission accomplished. I knew you could pull it off. Anything to report, Riversong?”
“Nothing. There's no way they could have tracked us after we all took to the air, even if it wasn't a long trip. The well should remain hidden a while longer and there was no evidence they know the Blackhorns were rescued.” Riversong said in monotone. Should I call this his 'noble' mode? It's just like when Izzy is gathering information, nothing given away.
“Exellent! You all have done well this time, truly. I've prepared some accommodations for everyone upstairs so if you'll all be so kind as to follow Birdice here he'll show you around.” Arnold said happily, gesturing to his butler, who bowed to us. We helped my parents once again and got everyone upstairs following Birdice as he showed us to rooms one by one. The first was for my parents; I can't really tell for sure but I think the entrance to the basement is near the center of the manor so it's likely they were given rooms near that so it'd be easier to guard them. Eventually he indicated one room was for me so I decided to accept Arnold's good will and get a good rest. Goodnight.
The next day we all slept in until at least mid morning. It seemed the staff were informed to let us rest as much as we wanted because they didn't come to wake me until I had already gotten up. I went through my normal routine as best I could with the unfamiliar surroundings before heading to the dinning room where a maid had said I could have a late breakfast. I have to admit I'm not used to noble-styled furnishings, I feel nervous, like I might accidentally break something. Basically I couldn't relax even though I was fine yesterday.
When I arrived at the dinning room I found it to be a rather large room with an impressive table taking up most of it. It was more modestly decorated, but still had that high-class feel to everything. Argentian was already seated and eating about midway down the table, so I took a seat opposite him while the maid who had been following me went off somewhere. “What'ya think they'll 'ave us do next, eh? Personally, I'd like a little rest, ya know?” Argentian said to me between bites. Unusually for him he didn't seem to be drinking anything alcoholic today.
“I'd like a chance to rest too, if only so I could talk to my parents some. We have a lifetime's worth of things to get through.” I responded with a quiet sigh. I'm still not sure how to behave with my parents. I don't dislike them, in fact I want them to be in my life from now on if possible, but I feel there's a very large divide between us; mostly caused by me having been raised by another couple. Bottom line though is that I'll just have to make an effort to get to know them. I know next to nothing about them as people, the only things I know are the stories Uncle and Auntie told me about their adventures together. I want to know what they've been doing since they gave me up, how they joined the resistance, and I have to tell them about Petra and Uncle and Auntie's fates.
“Why don't we jus' ask to be giv'n leave then? I doubt the resistance would deny us a short break af'er a mission like tha' one.” Argentian suggested lightly. I figure we could ask Arnold, he would probably grant it without trouble. We should probably get the opinions of Willow and Izzy first though.
They say 'speak of the devil' and all that. Just as I was thinking about them Izzy and Willow appeared and took seats around the table too. Willow sat next to Argentian, but seemed disappointed that he wasn't drinking for once. “Me and Argentian have a proposal for everyone. We want to take a break for a bit, the last mission was more risky than normal and I'd really like a chance to get to know my parents. Would you two agree?” I asked. I don't think they'll disagree, I'm just not used to asking for things with this group. I mostly just play follow the leader and at most would give my opinion or advice.
“I'm all for it. We have been working pretty hard lately.” Willow answered first with a smile on her face. She seemed to welcome the proposal.
“Yeah that's fine. I'll ask Viscount Gladstone for permission later.” Izzy said with a hum of thought. At this point my food arrives so I turn my attention to my meal. We stayed up late fighting some churchies without eating afterwards so I'm pretty hungry.
The meal wasn't anything too fancy by my old standards, but for the people of this world it was luxurious. A pancake with sliced fruit and a drizzle of honey, a ham sandwich made with white bread and generous helpings of meat and cheese, a small side of bacon cut into strips and fried until just before they become crisp, and a glass of fruity water to wash it down. Truly the breakfast of kings, er well nobles anyway. Argentian didn't seem phased by it and was just finishing up normally, so I decided to follow suit and eat up. Although I did try to mind my manners a little more than normal.
Once everyone had finished their breakfast we decided to go see Arnold and get permission as a group to take a break. Hopefully he'll put us up a little longer; I'd like to be able to see my parents easily, but if I'm forced to come and go from here I'll stand out. That would be inadvisable for a number of reasons. A servant led us to Arnold's study where he was hard at work reading over and occasionally stamping or signing documents. Izzy took the lead and asked for permission to stay here for a little while and take a break, to which Arnold looked at her like she was crazy.
I was about to give up hope until he started talking, “You don't even have to ask, in fact I was planning on ordering you to take a break if you didn't. I've looked over your operational records and you've been consistently active for the last three months without even taking a day off except when you're between towns. And some of the information you've sent us has helped us in several operations, not to mention your side efforts to reduce the church's bandit allies. In my opinion you've more than earned a week off, or maybe even longer. The resistance recognizes your group's contributions to the cause, so take your time to rest, relax, and recharge. I'll cover all the costs so you have nothing to worry over.” I sighed in relief. Now I'd have time to do what I wanted to and everyone would have the chance to unwind a little.
After talking about a few other things with Arnold, during which I acted like air, we all parted ways to do our own thing. I decided I wanted to visit my parents and see how they were recuperating. Based on their symptoms and comparing my knowledge of the game system this world is based on, I think they had levels of exhaustion. It was probably pretty close for father too, too many levels of exhaustion leads only to death. I'm not too worried about them now since they're being cared for by Arnold's staff, but I would still like to check myself, even if it's just to make myself feel better.
I got the attention of a maid who seemed to be between tasks and asked her to guide me to their room. This mansion is laid out like a maze, most likely to discourage intruders, so I had no chance of finding it by myself unless I knew exactly where I was already. I doubt I'll be staying here long enough to learn the layout in any detail, but with my memory I should be able to find my way around passably well after a day or two. After a few twists and turns the maid stopped in front of a door and knocked for me, after getting a response from inside she announced me and then stepped aside.
I opened the door slowly and stepped into the room. The room was basically just a bedroom on the larger side, but less fancy than the other rooms I've seen so far. It was still noble-style, but it was toned down to make it feel comfortably wealthy rather than showy. My parents were both sitting up in a large bed with a servant standing to the side, obviously their focus was on me. I walked in and stopped at a respectful distance from their bed. “I wanted to come see how you were doing. Am I intruding?”
“Not at all!” mother exclaimed. “We were just hoping you'd stop by. If you're okay with it we'd like to talk to you.” She went on. She had a nervous look on her face, a look that was mirrored on father's as well. It seems I'm not the only one who doesn't know how to face the other, for some reason that sparked a feeling of familiarity in me. Perhaps knowing that I'm not alone in my feelings? Anywhoozle, I had to respond.
“Of course!” I said with a passion that surprised myself. “I've always wanted to get to know you. Uncle and Auntie were kind and tried to raise me with love, but they weren't my mom and dad, and they never tried to be.”
“We heard the basics of what happened to Petra from Dimeldrithin. He visited earlier. Do you mind telling us a little more about what happened?” Father asked gently, I could surmise he was trying not to awaken possible trauma, but that he almost desperately wanted to know what happened to his friends.
I didn't mind, though it wasn't a pleasant memory. So I told them everything I knew about the attack on Petra and about the ultimate fates of Uncle and Auntie. Then I went on to tell them about my adventures since then, though there wasn't actually too much to say about that. They listened respectfully, their sadness at Uncle and Auntie's end plain on their faces. I knew from stories I'd heard that the four of them were once very close friends and adventuring partners in the same party.
After my story finished I had a question for them. “Now that I've said that, can you tell me a little about what you were up to since you left me with them?” I tried not to ask too much, I only hoped for a summary.
“Sure, but It'll be something of a long story if we're to get into it.” mother said agreeably.
“Find a seat, get comfortable. We'll explain.” father said next. In response the servant pulled over a chair for me, and I got ready for a long story.
