In Paillard, the group rests at Brigia's family home. After hearing a long lecture from his parents for not reporting, Howell finally goes to visit Kalen's grave.
“Am I disturbing?” Fayir approaches his companion who was standing in front of a tombstone.
“No… I’m done.”
“You can stay a little longer. We are not in a hurry.” The former privateer speaks as he places some flowers on the grave and bows with his hands together.
”…Howell… I should have told you in advance that we would be coming here. I'm sor...”
“Everything is fine.” The swordsman smiles. It is the first time in years that Fayir has seen him smile. The buccaneer's tanned face turns red. He takes a deep breath and works up some courage. Slowly, his hand moves toward Howell's.
”Yes. Everything is fine.” He speaks holding his companion's hand.
“Oh gods! Don't do this in front of the dead.” Darneth interrupts the intimate moment. She is followed by the other members of the troupe.
The dwarf Bilos pours some wine from his canteen onto the ground as a sign of reverence. Valinzi, a beastman of faith, drops to his knees and begins to pray. The priestess Judith joins him.
After visiting the village cemetery, the group gathers after dinner to discuss next steps. Fayir prepares to deliver the quest package. He opens a scroll and places the bottle on top of it. The magic item is activated. The bottle is teleported and in its place appears a bag of coins while the parchment turns to ash.
“What a big bag. Are they copper coins?” The warrior priestess questions.
“See for yourself.” the party leader says as he opens the pay bag. Silver coins.
“How much money...” Brigia's eyes sparkle. “But is it really strange for this witch to offer so much money for a shadow?” Quickly her enthusiasm turns to distrust.
“They have a liason!” Darneth's voice echoes in the background.
“I don't have an liason with her!” Fayir denies. “I swear.” He directs this last statement at Howell, who doesn't seem to mind the alleged affair.
“Not to mention the platinum adventurer that was sent...” Brigia continues. “Is there something going on?”
“That's not something for you to worry about right now.” The party leader tries to defuse the tension. “The most important thing is what the money will be spent on...”
“I vote to buy new a wagon. I can't stand to ride a horse anymore.” Darneth interrupts.
“Let's buy new weapons!” “Groceries!” “Healing Potions!” Each member wanted something different.
“I think our leader already has something in mind.” The paladin intercedes.
“Exactly, Mr. Valinzi.” Since we started Blue Wyvern four years ago, I've been saving money for two purposes. The first of them can finally be achieved.
“Don't tell me that…” Darneth gets emotional.
“Yes. The day has finally arrived. Our party will finally have its own headquarters.” The buccaneer concludes.
The party starts to party. Brigia steals some bottles of wine from her father's cellar for the small celebration.
The next day, the adventurers hit the road again, heading to Castelmare to settle the purchase details for their new headquarters.
The reward for the captured shadow beast was enough to complete the amount needed to purchase the Blue Wyvern's own headquarters. There is also money left over to repair members' weapons and gear.
Sarina took the combatants' weapons to a blacksmith. She carried her and Valinzi's longswords and shields, Fayir's scimitar, and Howell's twin rapiers. Bilos's warhammer and Brigia's mace didn't need repair.
Valinzi was in charge of armor repairs. Darneth went to an elven weapon shop to repair her magic bow and buy more ammo.
While the other members rested or tended to repairs to equipment, Howell accompanied Fayir to purchase the party's headquarters. After solving all the paperwork at the registry office and at the bank, they head to their new home.
It was a modest place, a two-story corner building not far from the downtown. It lived up to its price: 30,000 silver coins in total - or 3,000 gold coins at the exchange rate. Silver coins are the most used in big cities, while copper coins are used in small towns. Gold coins are used in special cases, like this one.
Inside the building there was a lot of rubble and dirt. However, the party leader looked like a child as he examined room by room, explaining its purpose: “here will be the storage room for weapons and potions”, “here is the meeting room”, “here is the kitchen”, “here is our bedroom.” He couldn't miss an opportunity as the swordsman rolled his eyes at every move.
Some of the party members already have a fixed residence. Paladin Valinzi takes shelter in an orphanage that he helps support. Sarina owns a house in a prime area of the city. She had already offered the residence as the headquarters of the group, but Fayir was opposed.
Bilos and his wife live in Little Castelmare, a neighborhood notorious for its small-sized inhabitants, such as dwarves and halveans. Their son is in Biragz, where he is undergoing a sort of warrior's sabbatical rite. A barbarian thing. He intends to return to Castelmare and join his father's party.
The remaining members lived in boarding houses or hostels. But now they have a place to call home.
“Brother…” Judith, mop in hand, momentarily stops cleaning the floor. “Now that we have a headquarters, don't you think we should open up selection for new members?”
“You don't think it's rash?” The buccaneer answers while cleaning the window panes.
“Well... it's just that...” The younger sister didn't have the confidence to share her ideas.
Despite being siblings, both were quite different. Both physically and their personalities. Fayir looked like his mother, a native woman of Merenil: tall and slender, brown skin and long, dark brown hair always dyed red. And of course, eyes as green as fayalites. Judith, on the other hand, looked like her mother, a woman native to Naramia. Small, chubby, with black skin and short, curly hair. Always sweet and helpful.
Ever since Judith's mother died, Fayir has been overprotective of his sister. He felt relieved when the youngest became a life cleric. He expected Judith to work in a temple or hospital instead of following the adventurer's life. But that wasn't what she wanted.
The only time the two argued and the younger sister prevailed was when Fayir refused to allow her to join his newly created party. “If you don't accept me, I'll join some other group,” said the priestess with a trembling voice, but a resolute will. In the end, Fayir relented and Judith became the support of the Blue Wyvern.
“What's in your mind, Judith?”
“W-well… it's just… the rainy season is coming. And with it the purge season of sewer pests... We are eight members currently... If we find four more members, we can assemble three teams and form a raid to hunt a nest.”
The guild leader stops his cleaning task for a moment and starts mulling over the idea. A raid needs at least three groups of four adventurers.
“I'll think about it. But there's no reason to be in a hurry. Growing with quality is better than with quantity, don't you think?” The older brother smiles at his younger one.
“You're right!”
“Speaking of new members, can you go help those two in the stable? I feel bad leaving them cleaning up that mess.” A slight twinge of guilt hits the party leader. “Miss Darneth and I will finish cleaning this floor.”
“R-right!”
Part of the bottom floor of the group's headquarters was occupied by a stable. Although the building was vacant, the stable was being used. Fayir asked for the stable to be cleaned, although the party almost always used hired horses for their travels.
“So that was the reward that bastard was talking about…” Brigia curses her leader when remembering that he hadn't given her reward until now.
“I haven't cleaned a stable in a while. Ever since we were kids in Paillard.” Howell remembers.
“There was that time we cleaned the stable at Lendor's house. But it didn't take that long!”;
“If you knew some water magic, everything would be easier...” The dimacheer teases.
“Why don't you learn then, damn it!” Brigia tends to swear more than Darneth when she's alone with Howell.
“Because you are the cleric here...”
“Do you want to roll around in horse shit, you...”
“H-hello...” Judith descends the stairs that connected the stable to the floor above. “Am I interrupting something?”
The discussion is interrupted just as Brigia is about to throw a piece of manure at Howell.
“Actually no.” The warrior-cleric wipes her leather gloves against each other. “We're just finishing cleaning up all this shit.”
“I came to help you.”
“Excellent! The more hands in shit, the better for keeping shit together. So hands to shit!”
“Can you just stop saying shit. You don't look like a lady.” Howell complains.
“Everyone knows you are the lady here.”
While the two argued, Judith had fun watching. She would never have imagined seeing someone as serious and closed off as Howell acting like this.
By late afternoon, the cleaning of the stable was finished. Now the adventurers just needed to get rid of the waste.
“What are we going to do with all this shit?
“The town incinerator wagon won't pass for another three days. We cannot leave it on the sidewalk of the headquarters.” Always cautious, Howell had already tried to find out the days that the garbage collection wagon spent in that neighborhood.
“Then I will burn all this shit myself MWAUAHAHAHA.” Brigia lets out an evil laugh.
“You just want an excuse to set something on fire.”
“Is there a problem with that? At least I will solve the problem.”
“You can't go around burning poop around the city. It's disgusting."
“So what do you want me to do?”
“Friends…” Judith raises her hand trying to get their attention “I have an idea.”
At Judith's request, the adventurers dumped all the manure in front of the headquarters, next to the building's wall and then threw water over it, dampening the material.
After they are finished, the priestess of life crouches down next to the evenly spread waste and places seeds at each point along the front of the building. Then she raises her scepter and begins to cast a spell.
Promptly, branches begin to sprout from the waste. Climbing plants cling to the walls and climb up to the roof. Flowers of various colors begin to bloom from the vines.
“It's beautiful...” Brigia comments with a twinkle in her eyes.
“I agree...” Finally, the two stopped arguing.
“Making plants grow is the specialty of shamans and priests of life. But if you give the right conditions, anyone who knows another spell that affects plants can make them grow healthy.” Judith always modest.
“Hey…” Brigia realizes something. “The colorful flowers are closing...”
“It's because it's already dark. These flowers usually open during the day. Only the white flowers used to be open at night.” Howell explains.
“Oh Burning God! I had forgotten what a bookworm you are.” Brigia teases him.
“Don't blame me if you have a slime brain.”
“Shut up you, old fart!”
“You look older than me...”
“That's because you don't seem to age, damn you.” The two start to fight again.
“Thanks for helping me. I always wanted to have a garden. This is the closest I've gotten so far.” Judith is grateful, despite the confusion they caused.
“Come on, little Judy. We are mates. One day you will have a huge and beautiful garden. We'll have picnics on it. We'll help you get it. And Howell will carry all the horse shit it needs!”
“Will I?” The dimacheer didn't seem to like the idea.
“Thank you friends." The healer smiles. “You must be hungry. I will repay you by making something very tasty for dinner.”
“Lasagna, lasagna!” Brigia raises her hand as if she were a child asking for something.
After finishing cleaning the headquarters, the adventurers were finally able to rest.
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