The Hollow Crown was nothing like The Final Yak. It was near the outskirts of the city, and we didn't have the energy to plod all the way to somewhere nicer. The Final Yak had been cheerful and well-lit and smelled like good food. This place was darker and louder and smelled like people who had made several consecutive bad decisions. It felt more appropriate somehow.
Tessa had stopped crying about four minutes ago, and decided she was hungry. The switch was sudden and startling in only a way Tessa could manage. And she was cranky.
At first we sat at our little round table in the corner, staring nervously around at the crowd: largely big, burly men with long beards and tattoos.
We saw two dwarves engrossed in a card game of some sort at a far table, and I could see one of them was clearly cheating; he had a spring loader under his sleeve that was feeding cards into his palm.
I pointed out the dwarf in question to Kael, and he shook his head. "Amateur."
He said nothing more.
I continued to look about and spotted a large lizard-man engaged in an intense arm wrestling match with an equally imposing orc, the two of them locked in a standstill. I was impressed at the way their muscles bulged and popped.
The waitress, a shockingly pleasant and buxom woman who introduced herself as Kila, brought us our first round of ale and a big plate of fried potatoes. We had not engaged in much conversation, and we continued that trend as we practically dived at the food.
Two more plates and three ales apiece later, it was a very different experience.
Tessa, being the smallest of us, was already showing signs of being drunk: her face was flushed, and she seemed to have forgotten how much she had been crying earlier. I figured that was a good thing.
Kael nursed his third drink — he wanted to keep his faculties, he said.
I hadn't said much, having been lost in thought and distracted by food.
Eventually I did pipe up. "I'm glad Hask is okay."
The other two nodded fervently. "The Priesthoods in Moorhaven have exceptional healers. Far beyond what even the best Janitor can do."
I cocked my head curiously at Kael. "Why is that?"
Kael smirked. "Even the godliest of priests think themselves above being a Janitor. And anyone that has that kind of connection with the divine still wants glory, be it for their god or themselves."
Tessa snorted. "It's not fair! The adventurers are always the ones getting to slay the monsters and collect all the treasure! And we have to clean up after them! It's rude! They get songs written about them, and we're stuck knee deep in monster guts!"
She was loud enough that a patron somewhere at the other end of the bar called out, "YEAH! YOU TELL THEM, JANITOR GIRL!"
Tessa gave a loud hiccup and went quiet for a moment.
Kael looked thoughtful. "But we couldn't have done what Hask did back there."
I shook my head. "I don't think anyone, but Hask could have done it."
Tessa immediately got excited again. "It was amazing! The monster was all like 'RRRRRRAAAAWRRRR,' and Uncle Hask was like 'CLEAN THE CORE'. And then we were, and the monster had tentacles and was beating the shit out of him! Then he was all like: 'Combat Summon: Tempest Striker'. What the fuck is Tempest Striker?!?!?! And it was like 'WHOOOSH,' and Uncle Hask just cut the thing in half like it was a loaf of bread! Like, WHAT?"
Her body language matched her words. She was actively standing up on her chair and waving her arms about dramatically. Kael rested his face in his palm and sighed while I tried to intervene. "Tessa, maybe sit back down? You're getting very excited."
She looked down at me. "Of course I'm excited! My uncle is the strongest person in the world!"
She hiccuped again and suddenly looked thoughtful. "You'd think that would be something he would talk about. Especially with his family."
I helped her to sit back down, and she wobbled slightly and leaned on the table. "Uncle Hask has always…been a….private person. Very private. You notice he never talks about himself? I've known him my whole life, and I don't think I actually know that much about him except he's my dad's brother and always gave me candy when I wasn't supposed to have it. Mother would always yell at him."
I smiled softly as I watched Tessa's face go through a hundred expressions. She really loved her uncle. Couple that with the shock of the dungeon, and you get a whirlwind of emotion.
Kael said quietly, "I'm sure he has his reasons for not talking about it."
Tessa rested her forehead on the table. "I knoooow. This is just such a big thing."
Our conversation was interrupted by a man, clearly deep in his cups. He was human, with a mop of sandy brown hair that was matted to his forehead with sweat. He looked about as normal as a human could look. Not a distinguishing feature on him.
When he spoke, his words were so slurred I had to take a second to translate them. "You guys talkin' about Hask 'Tombweight' Morian?"
Tombweight?
I answered cautiously. "Yeah. Why?"
The man pulled up a chair uninvited, but none of us stopped him. "That man is a legend. Saved my life when my village got attacked by goblins."
He wobbled a bit, and I threw out a hand to steady him. "They call 'im 'Tombweight' because if he stepped onto the battlefield, it was all as good as over."
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The three of us glanced at each other with a healthy mix of skepticism and amazement.
He continued. "They also call 'im 'The Cleaving Tide', what 'cause of his axe and such. The dwarves call 'im 'The Low Thunder' 'cause of 'is bein' a dwarf 'n' all."
He stopped, eyes widening as he hit a moment of clarity. He stared at Tessa. "Did I hear you say Hask was yer uncle?"
Tessa nodded silently.
The man exhaled loudly, as if rattled. "Yer uncle is a hell of a man. 'E's a hero! I think all us older folks have a story about ole Tombweight from back when he was wit' Thunder Hawk."
I felt my jaw drop for a second; Tessa reached over and pushed it back up. "My uncle was in Thunder Hawk?"
The man nodded so hard he almost lost his balance again. I caught him once more. "Mmmmhmmm! I've 'eard he's one 'o' the foundin' members! But that don't make no sense, 'cause Thunder Hawk was founded like, four hunnerd years ago or somethin'."
"Five."
"Same difference!"
He leaned in close. "Dwarves don't live that long. Maybe two hunnerd years at best."
He gave a conspiratorial wink, and then his face fell. He suddenly looked quite green around the gills. "I fink I might throw up. S'cuse me!"
He stumbled away from the table, and we watched him go in shock.
I filed all of that away. It joined a growing collection of things I didn't have answers for.
The long silence that followed was punctuated by Tessa. "...What the fuck?"
The dormitory was dark and quiet when Kael and I got back. Tessa had peeled off at the women's wing with a slightly unsteady wave and the kind of smile that meant she'd be asleep before her head hit the pillow.
We hadn't exchanged much in the way of words since we left the tavern. I heard Kael rummaging through his chest, pulling a small mechanical gizmo from within and immediately set about tinkering.
I could see that he was deep in thought.
I didn't want to press him in case it was something personal, but I did want to get him talking. "What do you think happened to that adventurer?"
Kael didn't look up. "Arren Shadowflash? Oh, I do not doubt that Thunder Hawk got him resurrected. Death doesn't stop an adventurer."
I decided not to address how insane that statement sounded. "What are you working on?"
He gestured at the device. "A part for SCRUB. He burned out a gyroscope in the Maw. Not too big a deal, but he'll be wobbly if I don't fix it."
As if reminded of something, he pulled forth the small box that, with a press of a button, unfolded into Kael's mechanical pal.
SCRUB beeped and booped in greeting. "Hey buddy. You did a great job back there in the dungeon."
SCRUB made a whirring sound that sounded like he was happy.
I didn't know many things, but I knew in my heart that I would die for that little machine.
Kael continued his work quietly. I let him.
After a solid length of time, he finally spoke again. "Hey Lorne."
I looked over. He had stopped what he was doing and was staring at his hands with a worried expression. "What's up?"
He paused nervously. "That core was tampered with."
I felt my gut clench. I had nearly forgotten about that. I had no idea what it meant for us, but a core being mysteriously altered didn't sound good. "Yeah."
Kael sighed softly. "That's really bad."
"I would imagine so…what do we do?"
SCRUB whirred happily as Kael began to install the part he'd been working on. "Us? Nothing. We submit our report. That stuff is above our paygrade."
That didn't sit right with me. "Do you know how it was tampered with?"
"I don't know exactly. Just that something was intrinsically wrong with it. Something that wouldn't exist naturally in a core."
I knew he had more to say, so I let him continue. "I really wish I could get another look at it. If something isn't done, it could mean real bad things for us. All of us."
As the gyroscope clicked fully into place, SCRUB gave a series of beeps that were clearly a "thank you." Kael patted his machine head. "Goodnight, buddy."
He pressed a button and SCRUB folded back up. Kael slid the box under his bed. "Sleep time, I think."
"Agreed."
We both changed into our night clothes. As we settled into bed, I reached over for the lamp and snuffed out the flame.
In the quiet darkness, I heard Kael's voice again. "Hey Lorne?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't know how you did it, but you saved Tessa and Alara back there."
"...I guess I did."
"Thank you. I don't know what we'd do without them."
I didn't know how to respond. "Don't mention it."
Stupid. That was the wrong thing to say.
I let the silence stand and opted to distract myself by opening my skill array. "Console."
Still just "MOP PROFICIENCY I." I'd thought maybe the new skill I had surely earned in the dungeon was just delayed. But no.
It made me wonder what I had to do to actually improve.
It had been a couple of days since the Ebon Maw. We were all mostly feeling better, and Hask's condition was steadily improving.
I had spent that time resting, enjoying Ojola's delicious food at least three times a day, and learning more about dungeons in one of the city's many libraries. But I needed a break, and I had a promise to keep.
Tessa had been vibrating with barely contained excitement since I knocked on her door that morning. She was already wearing her civilian clothes and had a list. A long list.
I had promised her Boil and Bubble before we went into the Ebon Maw. That felt like a very long time ago. Given everything that had happened between then and now, I was glad the promise still meant something to keep.
We had been paid for the Ebon Maw job the day before by the Guild Treasurer. I wasn't sure if four gold pieces was a lot, but Kael and Tessa seemed satisfied.
My halfling companion bounced ahead of me with completely uncontained enthusiasm as we strolled through the busy streets of Moorhaven. I munched on a piece of deliciously charred meat I'd purchased from a vendor and felt tired just from watching her. "Lorne, I'm so excited! You're going to love Boil and Bubble! I haven't been in months! It's so much fun! There's every potion you could think of; growth potions, shrinking potions, invisibility potions, extra-visibility potions, health tonics, poisons, cleaners, dirtiers…everything!"
I grinned at her from ten paces behind. "I'm excited!"
She squealed in delight and pointed across the way; there was a small park with grass and a couple of trees. A woman sat on a bench with three very small and very adorable puppies on leashes at her feet.
Her attention thoroughly captured, Tessa dashed for the dogs, stopping a few paces short, remembering her manners. "I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am. Could I please pet your dogs?"
The old woman smiled kindly. "Of course! That's Scrap, the brown one is Winston, and this little guy is Wiggles."
Before she had even finished the sentence, Tessa was on her back, being covered in puppy kisses. I grinned as I watched how truly and genuinely happy she was.
I had hung back a ways, but the woman waved to me. "You want to pet them too, don't you?"
I nodded. I really did.
I knelt before the puppy that she had referred to as Winston. He was a short, stocky dog with flappy jowls and lots of wrinkles. He had a big underbite.
He stood up, leaning on my knee with his front paws and licking my face enthusiastically.
I felt tears welling up in my eyes, which Winston quickly lapped up.
Ten minutes of puppy frolicking later, I had to practically drag Tessa away, reminding her of our destination. She allowed me to take her away, but did so under intense protest.