Moose was the first to spot us, and he croaked out a greeting even as he nudged Cojisto with one of his antlers.
The Human’s voice trailed off as he turned towards us. His dark eyes widened, and I noticed that his red hair had grown out some since the last time I saw him. Even though he was in the middle of the city, he still wore his furred armor as if it were natural.
I glanced at Moose. There didn’t seem to be any changes with him; he still just looked like, well, a moose.
“Badger! And Tabitha!” Cojisto exclaimed, arms wide as he approached me in particular.
I held up a hand. “If you hug me, I’m going to punch you.”
Cojisto stopped, but began stroking his chin. “Hmm, now that is a tempting offer, my friend.”
“Cojisto, no,” I warned.
“Maybe next time, then,” he said jovially before putting his arms down. Instead, he reached down for a handshake.
That was much more preferable, and we shook in greeting. “Tabitha tells me that you’ve been here since morning.”
“Oh, yes, we were released earlier today by some magic man. Didn’t seem like he’d be handy in a fight, and I’ve already forgotten his name. His name is probably something stupid, like Derrick,” Cojisto said before wrinkling his nose. “Don’t much care for Derricks. One tried to tell me that Moose couldn’t join the Adventurer’s Consortium. Can you believe that?”
“Yes, Cojisto, I can,” I said dryly.
He frowned down at me before looking at my wife. “It certainly seems to me like there shouldn’t be any rules on record that a Moose can be an adventurer,” she replied with a shrug. “I mean, who comes up with that? Except for a Derrick, of course.”
“Yes!” Cojisto exclaimed, pointing at Tabitha. “It’s a stupid made up rule.”
“Technically, all rules are made up,” I informed him.
“Badger, be nice to your friend,” Tabitha said, squeezing my hand.
“He’s an acquaintance,” I told her. “I only invited him because I thought the girls would like to meet Moose.”
Moose croaked something out, and Cojisto nodded. “Nothing to worry about, Tabitha,” he said, grinning. “We’re used to his cantankerous old man energy by now. It’s a part of his charm.”
“He certainly has a way with people, doesn’t he?” Tabitha teased.
I would have crossed my arms if I hadn’t been too busy holding my wife’s hand. “Can we go inside now?”
“Sure, Badger, let’s go,” she said, smiling.
We didn’t head to the main entrance of the Bottom’s Up, but to the side. There was a door behind a fence I had installed that led directly into the lowest floor of our family’s home. Down here, it only took up a small portion of the whole building, and we took up more space until we had almost the entirety of the third floor for just us.
This guest lounge would be big enough for Moose to stand, sit, or lay in comfortably. We had spared no expense back when we first bought the building, wanting to make it a home as well as a business. There were plenty of couches and chairs made by skilled Elven craftsmen. Tables were spread liberally, and there was even a wine rack with bottles out of reach of children. Trophies and weapons lined the walls, also out of reach of children.
And Ferrisdae was here, apparently.
When I opened the door, I saw my apprentice sitting on one of the couches, reading a book. Our entrance had grabbed her attention, and she glanced up to see us. Standing up immediately, the book nearly jumped out of her lap.
“Badger!” she yelled, scrambling to catch the book.
“Ferrisdae,” I greeted as I walked into the room. “It’s good to see you.”
The young Forest Elf basically tackled me, falling to her knees to give me a hug. Taken aback, it took me a few seconds of processing to return the hug. Her thick golden hair was in its usual mess, and I did what I could to ignore it. A second later, Tabitha joined us.
I heard someone take a step forward behind us. “Still going to punch you if you hug me, Cojisto,” I said. Instead of Cojisto, Moose’s head lowered on top of Ferrisdae’s and leaned against mine. “… I guess I didn’t warn you.”
Moose stamped his hoof gently against the floor once, which I knew was his way of saying yes.
“Sorry, Ferry,” Tabitha said. “He didn’t agree to adopt you.”
“I figured it wouldn’t work, Tabs, but thanks for the effort,” Ferrisdae responded.
“You two discussed that?” I asked, aghast. I attempted to pull myself away from the group hug when Tabitha pulled me back in. “Okay, fine, you two discussed that. I guess-“
I was cut off by a gasping Cojisto. “Is that… is that Britear, the Greenstone Axe of Rhodes?” he asked, suddenly running across the room. Thanks to his outburst, I was able to pull free, and I saw him standing under the axe we kept above the door to the tavern.
Britear was an axe with a brilliant green, jagged blade. Streaks of silver flowed across it like the wind, meeting with a thick, black haft. It was meant for a Halfling, but it was still outrageously large for someone my size. It also housed a very picky intelligent spirit. In the hands of the right wielder, it could light itself in sickly green flames in order to deal more damage on every swing.
Now, it was being used as a little extra security for the home.
I winced as Cojisto quickly turned around and pointed at my wife. “You’re not just Tabitha, you’re Tabitha Rhodes,” he said as if it was an accusation.
That was a little too close to our past than I wanted anyone to get, but Tabs just laughed. “I am!” she freely admitted, obviously pleased. “I haven’t been recognized by a young adventurer in quite some time. I’m surprised you’ve heard of me.”
“Heard of you?” he almost sputtered. “I like to think that I’m going to be the world’s greatest adventurer someday, and in order to do that I’ve looked into dozens upon dozens of famous adventuring parties. The House of Flames and Fate, the Country Pumpkins, and the Half-Orc Equality Party, to name a few. And, of course, Reliable Rhodes.”
I sighed, and Tabs patted me on the shoulder. Taking the hint, I backed up to sit on the couch. Even though I didn’t want it, she should be be allowed to bask in old glory when someone remembered her. It happened less and less these days, and she deserved it for all her dashing heroics even if I didn’t like where this conversation would end up.
Ferrisdae, confused, finally rose from her knees and sat beside me. The Elf glanced my way with an obvious question in her eyes, but I just waved my hand towards Cojisto, who had approached my wife with excitement.
“I’ve dove so deep into your adventures that Moose nearly worried himself sick!” he said. Moose confirmed with another clop of his hoof. “My favorite is the story of you all taking down Doreno, the Green Dragon of the Heartwood.”
“That was a good one,” Tabitha agreed. She was starting to match his energy now. “But, if you want to know the truth, the Serpent God of Rainbow Lake was much more difficult to deal with.”
Cojisto snapped his fingers. “That was so good, too! Oh, man, this is a real treat,” he said with an enthusiastic laugh. “Do you still speak with any of your old party members?”
“Oh, there’s a few of us still in New Frausta,” she answered, trying to sound sly. Tabitha backed up until she was pressed up against my knee. She placed a hand on my leg to soothe me. “Do you remember the names of my companions?”
“Of course! Tabitha Rhodes, charming berserker on the front lines and leader of the crew,” Cojisto started, raising a finger every time he added to the list. “Ozella, the beautiful worshiper of Sasalarn and team medic. Gro Khal, Orcish archer that could hit a hummingbird’s wings from a thousand paces. Ulrich Throm, the only wizard I think has a shot of beating me in an arm wrestling competition. There’s… oh! Sophia Blair! Illusi-“
“The liaison between the Departments of Dungeons and the Mage’s Guild?” Ferrisdae blurted out. Her eyes, wide, turned to me. “That’s how you know her? She used to adventure with your wife?”
Confused, I tilted my head towards her. “That old fox didn’t tell you?” I asked. “She said that she went on a girl’s night with you and Tabitha and that you all talked about all kinds of tales.”
“No, I wanted to ask but Tabitha kept a tight lid on any information about you,” Ferrisdae said. “We mostly ended up talking about work and complaining, and I told my story about what happened in the blizzard.”
Tabitha glanced back at me, squeezing my leg. “I’d never bring it up if he hadn’t recognized it first, Badger,” she whispered.
I grunted, but didn’t say anything more. I already knew that was the truth. The conversation would reach its inevitable conclusion in due time. It was destined to be from the moment he recognized Britear. It stung a little that Cojisto of all people was about to figure things out. I could see the cogs turning in his head.
“There was one more, wasn’t there?” he asked himself, crossing his arms in thought. “A paladin.”
“Of Tegril?” Ferrisdae asked slowly.
“Yeah, yeah, that sounds right,” Cojisto said with a nod. “Every account I read, there was mention of a fifth member, but it was really inconsistent. Sometimes they were mentioned, sometimes they weren’t.”
Moose croaked, and I never wanted to be able to understand him more than I did in that moment. Unluckily, Cojisto was quick to start nodding. Ferrisdae continued to stare at me.
“That’s right. They mostly showed up in testimonies from witnesses,” he said. Cojisto began pacing back and forth, trying to remember. Then, he snapped his fingers. “Right! I don’t remember his name because he never gave his name. Halfling paladin of Tegril, damn near a paragon if my memory’s right. Whenever someone asked who he was, he would refuse to answer. The rest of Reliable Rhodes wouldn’t give up a name either. Eventually, once the party started becoming famous enough, the people gave him a name.”
I closed my eyes as my wife squeezed my leg again.
“The Nameless!” he exclaimed. “That’s it! Never gave his name, stayed away from people, but very competent in a fight. The later accounts were full of more detail, likely because Reliable Rhodes became more famous. He used a sword and shield in combat, let everyone else do the the heavy lifting when it came to social situations.”
Despite Ferrisdae’s constant attention, I couldn’t help the scowl on my face. Tabitha had been concealing me from Cojisto, but I saw the man’s head slowly peek around her. He was grinning.
“Badger,” he said, drawing out my name.
“Yes, I am Badger,” I grumpily replied.
“Grumpy, goes by a nickname, doesn’t like dealing with people,” he listed. “Are you the Nameless?”
There was some leeway for denial here. I could always claim to not be the Nameless, and that someone else had done it. The moniker had never sat right with me, anyway. It had been lazy then, and it was lazy now. There could have been so many other options, and they had to go with the Nameless. Regardless, something bothered me more.
Huffing, I threw my hands in the air. “Cojisto figured it out?” I yelled. “Cojisto?”
“The paladin you were talking about was you?” Ferrisdae blurted out, leaning towards me so much that she had to put her hand on the couch.
“You told her about that?” Tabitha asked, looking back at me in surprise.
“You were a legend, Badger! Is it bad that I really, really want you to punch me now?” Cojisto asked, bouncing from foot to foot like he was getting ready for a fight.
“Allegedly, yes, and of course it’s bad, Cojisto, you really need some help,” I answered one at a time.
“Why don’t you go and relax, Badger, and I’ll entertain our guests,” Tabitha said gently, turning around to face me. “I’ll answer their questions, and you don’t have to worry about them spreading this around. They all seem like good kids, so I’m sure they know better. Right?”
“Absolutely, my lips are sealed,” Ferrisdae quickly answered.
“Oh, sure,” Cojisto easily agreed.
Moose stamped his hoof once.
Taking a deep breath I nodded. “Yeah, that should give me some time to calm down.”
“I can’t believe we’ve been traveling with the Nameless!” Cojisto exclaimed, striding over to Moose. “We got to fight right next to him!”
“Not helping, Cojisto,” Ferrisdae warned.
The Human looked back at us, suddenly aware of the mood. “Sorry.”
Standing up, I started heading towards the stairs. I stopped at the first step, but didn’t look back as I spoke. “Don’t bring this up again, alright?” I asked, receiving another series of positive responses. “Then, I suppose it’s alright if Tabitha answers some questions.”
“Within reason,” she said.
“Yes, within reason,” I repeated. “I’ll see you all for supper.”
Without waiting for any responses, I headed upstairs. Despite the shock of my past being dragged up, I found that I didn’t mind the weight being lifted off of my shoulders. Tabitha was a lot better at explaining our past than I was, and generally a lot more willing to boot.
Ferrisdae, at least, was likely to find out eventually during our travels, and ripping off the bandage now meant that she wouldn’t be blindsided by someone recognizing me later. It was rare, but it still happened from time to time. This saved me the trouble.
I heard both Ferrisdae and Cojisto loudly launch questions at Tabitha before I closed the door at the top of the stairs. Now that I was alone, a strained smile played on my lips. “Cojisto?” I asked again before I shook my head. That was a surprise if I ever had one.
