Astvanor Session 164 (5/2)

[cinaed]

Session 164: Days 23 of Saedan (5/2)

Everyone knows this is the time to recuperate and plan for their encounter against Elathias in Kelfemma. They can rest and also buy what they need to prepare for the fight against him and the other terror that is within the forest.

Diana begins to work on six letters while also doing her hair. She adjusts it into a new style.

After Yolov has a conversation with Galowen in his room, he steps out into the hallway. He touches the wall and apologizes that they can’t stay as long as they would like, but he hopes everyone else has been keeping the house company. There’s no verbal response, but he is hit by a feeling of the warm memory of the holidays, when his family and tutors were all gathered at the Blue Bell alongside customers, everything boisterous and full of life. It brings a sense of warmth and nostalgia and contentment.

Yolov smiles and says that he was thinking recently that Bloom, Soul, and Asset have specific names while they call the house House. It’s an excellent name, of course, but if it wants something more specific, he can ask his friends for ideas.

There’s no reaction for a moment, and then he is filled with a quiet eagerness and contentment that reminds him of the nervous anticipatory excitement of the first day of school. The house has never had a name before. It doesn’t need one but it’s excited by the thought of having one.

Yolov smiles again and pats the wallpaper, which now matches the wallpaper of his grandmother’s bedroom, and says he’s not the most original with names but he’s certain that his friends will come up with something worthy of the house.

Then he goes in search of Valerie. He finds her in the library. The books have all been put away and organized since Zorash was able to take over reorganizing from Asset.

There is a cat in her lap.

He blinks at the cat, since the cat was certainly not at the house when they last were here, before he clears his throat and says he wanted to see how she was doing.

Valerie closes the book and sets it aside. It’s an old-fashioned mystery novel. She says she’s as well as could be expected. She doesn’t remember much still but she’s been told it’s all for the best. It’s nice here. She likes it here.

Yolov says he’s glad. He wanted to tell her that once they leave here they’ll likely resolve the reason she and her mother ended up here in the first place. She and her mother are welcome to stay at the house for as long as they like, of course, he adds, but whenever she wants to return to Upper Crescent and resume her studies, he can help her get there.

Valerie goes through a face journey, relief and then excitement and then worry, but when Yolov says that they’re welcome here for as long as they like, she bursts into a smile. She tells him that she doesn’t think she wants to go back. She’s learned so much here already, from the library and conversations with everyone else at the house. There are books on magical plants and how to give fire sentience and mysteries. She’s had so many interesting conversations with Marcus about the garden, and Asset and Felisic have been teaching her about artificer magic. If she stays here, she’ll learn more than she thinks in theory she would have in school.

She picks up a book that’s on advanced illusion magic that has bookmarks all through it and shows it to him. She says anything she needs, she has the library at her disposal. School felt so stuffy.

Yolov advises her not to mention school being stuffy if he ever has the chance to introduce her to his uncle, who takes pride in his school, but he agrees that school isn’t sometimes the best avenue for education for everyone. If this is where she’s learning the most and enjoying it, then the library is her’s and she and her mother can stay.

And if she does ever decide to pursue school again, then Yolov is more than happy to help with the costs. They discuss how scholarships are helpful, but there are still the costs of travel and textbooks and other materials, Yolov remembering his family carefully saving up to buy him Es. He also tells her about the lectures in Radiscune if she ever wants to attend those.

Valerie says there is one thing. Everyone has been very generous, but she is running out of ink and paper. She finds it so hard to keep track of her thoughts and is constantly losing her notes. She asks if he’d be able to get her more.

Yolov says he completely understands. That’s why he keeps notebooks on hand. When he promises to go to Radiscune and get her notebooks and paper and ink, she gives him an enormous hug. He awkwardly hugs her back.

She thanks him and says that she cannot wait for him and the others to read their names in the acknowledgements of her first book. He tells her sincerely that he cannot wait to read it. She gives him a big toothy grin as the cat curls back up in her lap and she picks up her book again.

Yolov leaves her to the mystery and begins to talk to the others in the house, accruing a shopping list for when everyone visits Radiscune the next day.

Meanwhile Audacity returns from Alex’s and goes in search of Galowen. He finds him still in his own bedroom, a room like the forest and Glyn standing as a bouncer at the door. Audacity feeds Glyn some salt, prompting Galowen to remind him that Glyn doesn’t need to eat.

Galowen welcomes him in and Audacity enters.

Audacity says back in Thumbhook he called Galowen something and didn’t think anything of it but then Ambition called him out and asked him what Galowen meant to him. What he called Galowen felt right but it’s not a choice for Audacity to call him without Galowen’s permission.

Galowen asks what he called him.

Audacity says aqarib alma. It means water-kin. Kastvar is a desert and resources and water are precious commodities. Everyone expects a person to prioritize family in sharing food and water, other than sharing with guests since hospitality is very much a thing. For Audacity to call him water-kin means… He pauses, struggling to explain it to someone who hasn’t lived in Kastvar. He stares at the stream.

Finally he unslings his waterskin. He says if they were water-kin and if they were in the desert and this was all the water he had, what was his would also be Galowen’s and would be until the last drop. It’s not an oath that is taken or accepted lightly. He has no business calling Galowen it unless Galowen is okay with it.

Galowen says that he’s never been without water other than their brief time in the desert, which he hated. Water has always been around him. But when Audacity puts it like that, Galowen thinks they’ve been water-kin for a while.

Audacity asks if he can make the oath to him.

Galowen asks if that has to be part of it.

Audacity says yes, otherwise they are just comrades. Which he isn’t belittling, being comrades is very important to him, but there’s a difference.

Galowen tells him that he should say it.

Relief and nervousness fills Audacity’s face. He pulls out a little piece of cloth. On it he puts a loaf of bread and a couple dates and a little container of salt and he pours a cup of water from his waterskin before he puts that down.

He explains that in Kastvar these are the major items that let people live. There are often other things to eat, but these are bare bones rations for survival.

Galowen says that he’d have more salt if he didn’t give most of it to Glyn. He doesn’t need to eat, it’s magic. He mutters about how Az is always feeding Medrash.

Audacity says he doesn’t need to eat honey, but he will simply to enjoy it.

Galowen says he doesn’t need it to live though.

Audacity takes a deep breath and recites the oath. “By water and salt and bread and dates. By Alaymena and Arayla and Asalor and Rova. By all that creates and sustains and is sustained by life itself.  You are my aqarib alma and what I have is yours. To the last crumb. To the last drop. I hold nothing back.” He breaks the bread in half and takes a bite of his own portion.

That is the oath, but he finishes with the promise that when they go into the forest to deal with whatever the fuck Elathias is doing, he will have Galowen’s back.

Galowen says he has Audacity’s too. Then he asks if he has to repeat all that back.

Audacity says he doesn’t have to. Whatever he is to Galowen is completely irreverent. It could be reciprocal but it doesn’t have to be.

Galowen says he would like to learn it some other time, but it doesn’t have to be now. He picks up the other half of the bread and eats it, asking if this is really all they eat.

Audacity laughs and says it’s not all they eat, it’s just emergency rations. He does love dates though, he adds, eating one.

Galowen says he prefers mangos.

Audacity says they don’t travel well. They discuss drying mangos out or making mango chutney or getting them from The Magnificent Mangos around the world, spending time in each other’s company.

Elsewhere Az has been also checking on the others in the house before he retreats to his bedroom. There he holds up Spring’s necklace, sitting at the edge of the bed. He summons Medrash and Sabara to him.

With the same magic that has always brought them, they appear, watching him. He speaks to them and to the room, telling the necklace that he’s going to put it on and use it. They’re going to make sure together that no one else dies.

He puts it on. It swings to an invisible breeze before it settles against his clothing. Much like when he previously blinked and would be in his patron’s domain, he blinks and finds himself in a warm green space. The grass is dappled with white flowers and the smell of spring and fresh life is all around him. It smells sweet and honeyed.

There are trees in the distance, swaying in the breeze, fruit trees just beginning to blossom. They won’t have harvestable fruit for some time, but he knows instinctively and deeply when they will grow and what fruit they will grow and when they will be ready to eat.

When Az glances behind him, he half-expects to see the ocean of his childhood. He sees just beyond the greenery that the grass gives way to sand a quarter of a mile away from him. It looks like a very big lake or very small sea. He can’t see the other end, but he knows it’s not as wide-reaching as the ocean.

It’s close enough that he knows he could go to it but far enough that he can just barely hear the distant crash of waves and smell the faint scent of salt air.

There’s a nice cottage as well. It’s off-centered from where he was looking at the sea. He glances to the side and spies the two-roomed cottage with a few trees outside, well-maintained and well-kept. There’s a handful of sticks that look like they’ve been tossed about haphazardly, like a storm came through there.

The sticks are explained by Sabara bouncing around the edge of the cottage and bearing a tremendous stick in her jaws. He bends down and playfully wrestles with her for the stick, delighting her before he looks around for Medrash.

He can almost see the energy of his thoughts pulse through the space and a hyper-convenient wind within the cottage blows the curtains so that he can see through the window. Inside Medrash is going ham on an enormous pie.

Az goes in to find it looks a lot like his father’s house. It’s all comfortable wood furniture, each piece masterfully carved. There’s an immediate sense of comfort while he wrests the pie from Medrash and calms him down from his pie high. It feels like he’s done this a million times. No part of it feels new. No part of it feels novel.

He looks around for any sign of his patron. He finds the tea set that they used in the kitchen, still sitting in the drying rack. It’s been gathering dust and clearly hasn’t been used in a while, but it’s intact. Everything looks almost exactly the way it looked when he had his last tea with his patron, except perhaps for a few scratches in the porcelain.

Az looks down at himself and sees the necklace is still around his neck. He puts a hand on the face of the necklace and says out loud, “This is very nice. How do I get back to my friends?”

As soon as he expresses that wish to leave, he finds himself back in his bedroom with Medrash and Sabara. The first thing that strikes him is an immediate sadness he feels whenever he leaves home, that pain of missing a great comfort, followed just as intensely as the feeling that he shouldn’t feel that way. This was the first time he’d been there.

He wonders how much time has passed and discovers that it’s been eight hours.

Az shakes his head and tries to reorient himself. He mutters that he has to get better at that. He’s starving and the others are probably wondering why he missed dinner. He knows that if anyone had peeked inside, they would have seen him zoned out like he used to be with his patron.

When he gets downstairs, Zorash is in the kitchen cooking despite it being midnight. Zorash is hyper-focused on a complicated recipe from the cookbook Yolov gave him. He makes Az a late dinner and gets him to try his souffle, which is a good first attempt.

Zorash tells him that they missed him at dinner.

Az apologizes and says it’s complicated. He should explain this to everyone tomorrow when everyone is awake. Zorash seems startled to realize that he’s been baking for hours and that it’s already midnight.

Az drums his fingers against the table and asks if Zorash has ever thought of wanting more power than he has now. He knows Zorash might have a complicated feeling about it after his last bosses.

Zorash says it depends on the power. He joined the last vampire lords because he wanted power to do things. If it’s power to keep doing this, baking and cooking, then he wants all the power. He likes taking care of the people who live here, and he’d take more power to do that too.

Az says he doesn’t know if it’s possible, but he might be able to give Zorash some power.

Zorash sets down his mixing bowl and asks what kind of power.

Az says he’s seen Az’s powers when they fought the vampires, like Misty Step and others, magic to keep himself safe.

Zorash asks if it would help him. Az says it’s all theoretical and he’ll know more when he sees Zorash again. He sees Zorash clearly weighing the pros and cons, though it’s impossible to know what are pros and cons for the vampire.

There’s a minute before he takes some brownies out of the oven. He sets them aside to cool and then sits down across from Az and asks if there’s any power that can help cool brownies faster.

When Az says there are ways but probably wizardry, Zorash says wizardry is expensive and hard, and he and Az are already friends. He extends out his little hand to Az.

Az takes it. When he does, he feels a strange little pulse in his wrist that feels like a heartbeat separate from his own. When he pulls away, the feeling remains. It’s the kind of thing where he doesn’t necessarily feel like it goes away so much as he gets used to it rapidly.

He has a keen sense of Zorash in the kitchen and the new ability to know where Zorah is at all times.

Much earlier in the afternoon, Diana divides her time between writing her letters, getting her hair done, and sending another letter to Keyleth. Then she heads to Radiscune before everyone else.

She seeks out the orphans, Raleigh, Cona, and Tommy, who are still staying with Genesis. He lives above a tavern, which is comfortable. There has been a not insubstantial change to his quarters now that he is raising a baby and three children.

At her knock, Genesis swings open the door with his tail. Cona clinging to his back. He’s holding the giggling baby that he rescued during Iceclaw’s attack. He greets Diana, who says he looks busy. He says he is and offers to let her hold the baby.

Diana says she looks too fragile and Cona says everyone holds little Counter. Diana says she just looks really small before Cona says she can just say she doesn’t want to.

Genesis says to come inside. She clearly didn’t just drop by to say hello.

Diana explains that she did actually come by to say hi but also to get her helm back.

Genesis asks who has the helm.

Raleigh sprints into the room and says he doesn’t have it. Cona claims she doesn’t have it and suggests that Tommy has it.

Genesis deposits the baby into Cona’s arms and then opens up a window to yell down at Tommy and ask about the helm. He’s yelling downward and jumps a little, clearly startled, as Tommy swings into the room from the roof.

Tommy says he does and asks Diana if she wants it back.

She says she told him she would come back for it.

Tommy says she did and she’s back. He uses Genesis as a climbing post as he launches himself at Diana. He hugs her.

Last time this was a one-bedroom apartment. Now it’s much larger despite the building not having outwardly changed. Diana remembers that Genesis works with the Archive and is an interplanar traveler. He seems to be using some interplanar magic to make the space bigger on the inside.

Tommy offers up the helm, which is intact and has a heart drawn on it. Cona explains that she’s going to be an artist someday.

Diana says she will be.

Tommy explains that he is going to start a thieves’ guild.

Diana says that sounds nice as Genesis says that stealing from nobility is an honorable profession, taking money away from the unneedy. He reminds Tommy that he cannot create his own thieves guild until he turns twenty.

When Diana asks how many members he has, Tommy says five and holds up his fingers and counts out Raleigh, Cona, Counter and Genesis. He pauses and hopefully asks if Diana wants to join his thieves’ guild. She says yes, and he says triumphantly that’s five people.

Diana does a coin trick and Tommy’s eyes go wide. Diana says it’s all about maneuvering your hands to trick people’s eyes. She learned it from a much smaller gnomish individual.

Tommy asks if the gnomish individual wants to join the thieves guild. Diana says they probably would but they’re probably pretty old now. Tommy says there’s no age limit for a thieves guild.

Diana tells Genesis this is a great idea. Tommy says this is a great idea as Genesis puts his face in his hand and says it will be a great thieves guild. He prompts Tommy to tell Diana the name of his future thieves guild.

Tommy admits he hasn’t named it yet, it’s a diplomatic thieves guild and he needs to have enough members to vote. He invites her to stay for supper.

Diana says she can’t join this time but next time she will. Tommy tells her that she better, because this thieves guild keeps their promises. He fools her into a pinky promise.

Diana says she’s given her word and will return for dinner soon.

He tells her to keep the helm safe.

Diana promises next time to bring Adrin along, and is immediately swarmed by all the kids excited at the thought.

Genesis thanks her for coming back before she heads back to the house to join everyone for dinner, the only absences being Az, experimenting with his necklace, and Hava and Taion, ensconced in her bedroom.