[Secure an Advantage
Challenge Dice: 5, 9; Action Die: 1 +3wit
Miss: Pay the Price]
[Pay the Price]
“Laere?”
I turned to see my father exiting my old home, a confounded yet bemused expression on his face. I felt my face begin to pale as he began to walk towards Alketas and I.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, growing closer. As he did, I moved behind Al, causing my father to stop in his tracks, “Laere, are you alright? Is something the matter, I—”
“Go away,” I said, quickly clasping a hand over my mouth as I said it.
“What? What do you mean—”
“I said go away!”
Quickly, Al turned and grasped my shoulders, trying to keep me leveled. Meanwhile, I saw my father begin to slowly turn away, hastily making his way towards the temple. Occasionally, I noticed him glace behind his shoulder towards me, yet I could never meet his gaze. As soon as he had gone, Al confronted me.
“What in the gods’ names was that?” he exclaimed, beginning to pace back and forth as I stood awkwardly.
“I…I’m not really sure,” was all I could manage to say.
Al sighed and stopped pacing. “Well, whatever it was, hopefully at least now it’s out of your system. I think it’s best we went and did something else now, seeing as going off and following Haf after that stunt would be rather…”
“Idiotic? Brazen? Brutish?” I began listing.
“Masochistic,” he answered, chuckling slightly, “We ought to follow the Dag family’s lead and stop by the Themon household. Perhaps the family head will have some answers for us. He is, after all, one of the more likely candidates for overseer.”
“When is the vote for the next overseer?” I asked, my mood slightly perking up.
“Four days, so we might find some difficulty in speaking with him if he’s particularly busy. Here, let’s head there now and hope the walk is enough to cool your head.”
* * *
The walk to the Themon longhouse was quick, but enough for me to get my wits about me. The building itself was a looming one yet built in a rather practical, plain way. The Themon family was known for its animal tending and the back half of the household showed it with a large animal pin and a door in the village wall which I knew led to even more. Just above the village wall, the rooves of the Themon family’s barn and horse stables could also be seen. The area around the house was rather sparsely populated compared to the Dag family, likely attributable to the family being hard at work with their livestock. As we approached the longhouse’s front door, we were stopped by one of the Themon family—a younger member whose features were neither quite masculine nor quite feminine. They wore a simple green tunic with light-brown work pants and their grey hair was kept short with shaved sides.
“Hold it,” they said with an eyebrow raised and their green eyes showing some humor, “What’re you two doing? And Morter, what’s with the get-up?”
“Hello, Lio,” Al replied sarcastically, “I thought you would appreciate the outfit seeing as you fancy yourself an adventurer.”
“Hunter and it’s not a fancy,” Lio responded somewhat angrily, “I’m the one that caught that buck my pa sold off to you even though it wasn’t his, you know.”
“Fair enough, that was a rather impressive deer. Perhaps I’ll have to pay you with some of the produce I made of it, seeing as I doubt you got much of the spoils.”
“I’ll keep you to that,” Lio said, pointing to Al commandingly. After, they turned their attention to me, “So, you’re back in town, Laere. What brings you?”
[Compel
Challenge Dice: 1, 9; Action Die: 1 +2heart +1
Weak hit: Side-Request, +1 Momentum]
“Got any new stories to share?” they continued.
“Actually, I found one I think you might like, Lio,” I started. Looking into my satchel and finding my journal, I flipped it open to the right page and began to look it over, “Though it’s actually song lyrics and some sheet music I stumbled upon.”
“Really?” they asked, running next to me and pulling my arms down so they could read as well. They looked it over as I explained further.
“Sadly, this is only a copy of the original. A few villages over in a small settlement called Raven’s Mount—”
“The scavenger’s domain?” Al questioned.
“Yes,” I answered, glancing at him, “But why must you always interrupt me with questions? Now hush,” he chuckled at my expense, but remained silent otherwise, “Anyway, there I discovered that they had a piece of technology from long ago. Before the firstborn even, or so they claimed.”
“What was it?” Lio asked, their eyes sparkling with excitement.
“You as well!” I exclaimed to both Lio and Al’s enjoyment. Sighing, I continued, “It was an odd contraption made of a large funnel, a needle, and a few large, black disks with thin grooves carved into them. These disks were wrapped in paper with writing on it in an older version of our tongue that said what the disks contained. That was then covered in another container that felt like what makes up an older tome’s cover. Regardless, when these disks were placed under the needle, sounds would play and, on one of them, a few songs I thought you would like played. It cost me a few day’s work of teaching the Raven’s Mount children, but eventually I was given permission to write down what the disk’s paper cover said and transcribing a few songs.”
“And…I can have it?” Lio asked. I answered by nodding, then promptly turning to a different page in my journal which I had already copied everything needed and tore it out, handing it to Lio. Once Lio held it in their hands, they smiled toothily for a brief moment yet, quickly, their smile vanished and a sense of sadness washed over them.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s just that…I remembered I lost my mbria outside Losthome,” they replied, folding their arms and looking towards the walls which loomed in the distance, “Makes having any sheet music pointless.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“No,” Al interjected as Lio and I continued our conversation without him.
“Yes, but pa’s been rather touchy about anyone leaving recently and I might have left it while I was running away from a boar.”
“No,” Al said again, to no response.
“Well,” I asked, “If I promised to get it for you later, would you do me a favor?”
“No!”
“How can I be certain you won’t just forget about me after I’ve done you favor?” Lio retorted.
“Oh, I swear to the gods Laere,” Al began to say furiously, “You better not—”
[Swear an Iron Vow
Challenge Dice: 3, 4; Action Die: 2 +2heart
Weak Hit: Hazy Path, +1 Momentum]
“I swear by the iron hanging around my neck,” I decreed in an overly theatrical tone, “That I shall find your…what was it, your mbria?”
“Swear an Iron Vow,” Al continued as he subsequently facepalmed.
“You…seriously just swore an Iron Vow to find my mrbria?” Lio asked, their eyes wide with shock, “Welp! That works enough for me. What did you want in return, exactly?”
“Good,” I said, turning to Al and cheekily saying, “See, back on track,” before returning back to Lio, “I was actually wanting to know if you could help me get an audience with your father, Wolter.”
“Oh, that’s all you needed?” Lio chuckled as they gestured back towards the house, “You can just walk into his office and speak with him. Head straight, second door on the right. Thank the gods, too. For a minute there I thought you were going to have some grand favor to ask of me with the whole ‘Swear an Iron Vow’ thing. That wasn’t real though, right?”
As I stared vacantly at Lio, I heard Al begin to break into laughter beside me. Lio, meanwhile, caught on to my sudden vacancy and quickly began backing away before outright running in the opposite direction, calling back:
“Anyway, hope you find it, would love to have it back, bye!”
“Wait!” I quickly called after them, “Where did you even lose your mbria? Where do I need to look? Lio!”
Just as soon as I yelled at them, however, they had disappeared into the distance, and I was now left with another Iron Vow I would soon have to complete.
“Good going there,” Al remarked.
“Says the person I am absolutely dragging with me to kill that boar.”
“Sure, sure,” Al said before realizing what he was saying, “…Wait! No, I’m—”
“Too late!” I called back as I entered the Themon estate, an angry and grumbly Alketas following after me.
* * *
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