"Hold on. A warm spider egg that is a fruit eater.. did you get this from the Fey?" I asked.
"Yes. Why?" Isarial asked. "A man gave it to me."
"You accepted a gift from an unknown Fey... That spider lives it's life as a person. You've given Kershka a child." I said.
"Family starts early." Kershka said happily.
Isarial was silent. Then said, "Huh. Guess that's why Bibs got upset with me."
"Bibs knows already?" Kershka asked.
"Well, in another time I gave this to you and he got mad at me. Then said he wasn't mad, it was just complicated..." His voice trailed off. "It will hatch soon."
"Goodness. Our house isn't even built yet." I said. "I can pay more to get it done quickly, then."
"I can help with the money. I have lots of treasures I don't use." Kershka said.
"If you'd like. I will not argue with you, since it will be your home, too." I said.
"Are you two a couple?" Isarial asked.
"Yup! She said she was going to court me. It has been very fun." Kershka said.
"I have come to look forward to my days off because of Kershka. I'm very fond." I said.
"Alright, then. As long as you're both happy." Isarial said. "Though you look like you're in the process of healing."
"I am. I had an assisted mishap with stairs." I said.
"Hm. Alright. We'll, I better go see my Mom. So, I'll see you to later." Isarial said. I heard him start walking away.
"Bye, little friend! Oh, oh wait! Vern can you hold this one?" He set the egg in my hands. I heard Isarial pause as Kershka approached him. "I made puzzles."
"This looks really cool." Isarial said, "It's a puzzle?"
"Yup, puzzle." He made it fall apart. I heard Isarial sit and start trying to piece it back together. Biri commented he was completely absorbed in it. Kershka returned back to me. "I think he likes it."
I smiled. "If I recall correctly,this little one will be prone to being friendly."
"They will have all the friends they can handle. Shaska, want to come say hello?" Kershka asked. The spider came down to inspect the new spider egg.
I leaned my head against Kershka's arm while Shaska investigated the egg. It took another couple of minutes when Isarial said, "There. It's a ball again."
"Ooh, you're good. Don't worry, I am making new ones. They will be harder." Kershka said.
"You're speaking more. That's nice to see." Isarial said. "But I really should go see my mom."
"Ok." Kershka said. I heard Isarial leave.
"What are you going to name this baby?" I asked Kershka, referring to the egg.
"Hmm.. do you wish to name the little one?" Kershka asked.
"In the Queen's language, there is a phrase 'Saiai no ko' which means beloved child." I said. "To shorten it, Aiko would carry the same meaning."
"That sounds wonderful. Aiko it will be." Kershka said.
"You sound wonderful." I replied.
"You are wonderful. You make me feel wonderful." Kershka said.
I snuggled his arm, holding his egg still. "That reminds me. I got some chocolate."
"Oh? What was chocolate again?" Kershka asked.
I altered which hand was holding the egg, and reached into my bag. Biri got excited immediately, loving chocolate as she does. I took the brown substance out and broke a piece off, offering it to Kershka.
"This one is milk chocolate." I said.
He accepted it from me and ate it. "That is yummy, it melted some."
"Mhm. It makes a wonderfully creamy warm drink with milk. Or frozen treat as icecream. But it can also be made into cake and added to cookies. I was going to bring it to Kaz." I said, giving Biri a bar of it. She asked for two more, so I got it, and she dashed off with them.
"Wonder where she is going." Kershka commented.
"I think to find her teacher." I said. "She's good about sharing her treats."
"Oh, okay. Don't know Wren well, but she might like it." He said.
I nodded, closing my eyes, since they felt odd. Almost as if dry. "Do you want to visit Kaz with me?"
"Ok. I wonder how long it will take him to make those." Kershka said.
"Hm. The cookies should only take as long as twenty minutes to make and bake." I estimated. "Whenever he decides to."
"Okay. Let's go see if he will make those cookies." Kershka said.
We stood, and I hefted my bags up. I was still tinder, but it was fine. Kershka took Aiko back. Carrying it in one arm. The other was for me to hold onto as we went to the Bakery together. We entered to the wonderfully delicious scent of bread and baked sweets.
Amongst the smells, I could detect my favorite. Honey rolls. They had a honey and butter mixture brushed atop slightly sweet rolls. A must for any break fast. Which I was reminded that I had skipped because I had that assisted tumble.
"Honey rolls!" I said reverently.
Kershka laughed. "Kaz we need honey rolls, and we have things!"
Kaz came out of the back. "Hello, you two! Honey rolls, eh? That can be arranged. I'm finishing the last bit of breakfast breads. They will be out in a moment. Now, what have you brought me, hm?"
I felt for the page I'd written the Turnovers on. And brought it out and set it on the counter. Then I took out some chocolate, and broke a piece off, offering it to the dwarf. "Try this, it is called Chocolate."
"Chocolate, hm? Alright." He accepted it. After a moment he said, "Do you have a supply of this?"
I took out the small supply of it I had. About ten pounds. "This was all I purchased of it. There are a lot of popular dishes that star this sweet treat."
"I could imagine so many things infused with this." He said. "Is the chocolate for sale?"
"The chocolate is a gift for you to play with." I replied. "The Queen is likely going to open trade between the Isla and here, so you'll be able to get chocolate pretty easily. But for now, if you decide it's profitable, you can tell me an amount and I can obtain it. Ah, I have cocoa, too. It's powdered and bitter, but makes lovely cakes."
"A gift, huh? Alright. Once I get this new recipe down, I'll give you something real nice. Call it a gift for getting rid of the Elves." Kaz said.
I smiled, "That sounds good. I was able to pin down the turnover recipe, too."
"Oh? Is that what is on this paper? Let me take a look here." Kaz said. I heard him pick it up. "Oh, yeah. I can make this. I would hate to push you both out- let me get those honey rolls, but I have to get to work."
He went to the back and got the rolls for us, Five for each of us. "Here, I gotta-" I heard him hurry off.
"I think he's excited." Kershka said.
"D'you think he aimed to give these to us?" I asked.
Kershka seemed to put a coin on the table. "Just in case."
I smiled. "Did wanna stop by the Dwarves to requisition our home?"
"Ok. Best to get it started." Kershka agreed.
I agreed and he brought me to the building and inside it. "I would not have found this."
"It's in a really odd place." Kershka agreed.
I shrugged, and Kershka took the lead to enter the room deeper. There were plenty of voices all around, Dwarves were typically loud and rowdy. These ones were in good spirits, despite an Elf being in their presence. Then again, Tilton was their lord and had been managing the lands for a while now.
One of the Dwarves approached and said, "How can I help you two?"
"We are hoping to requisition the Union to build our house. Tilton said he would provide the specifications for allotted property.. I have blueprints for it." I said, offering them.
He took the papers, "This is clear instructions of what you want. Have you ever considered construction work?"
"I can do a little patchwork, but I'm afraid I don't have the right vision for it." I joked, waving my hand before my face.
"Ah. Understood." The Dwarf said.
I laughed a little, "I hired an architect from the Empire draw out the plans. I do have a secondary plan set, if you want it for future projects. We settled on this design."
"Well, I would live to see it. I'm sure it will be interesting." He said.
I got into my pack, finding the second plans, and offered it towards him. "Here you are. I do have the bill of purchase of the plans if you have any worry for plagiarism."
"After a Dwarven touch, there is no such thing." The Dwarf said.
I smiled. "Do you have a recommendation on furniture? We'll need sturdy furniture that will not break for Kershka, but also will not hurt too much if I run into it because it was displaced."
"Yeah, we've been working with a new guy from some island. We'll introduce you." The Dwarf said.
"Thank you." I said. "We will need the house built quickly to accommodate an unexpected child."
"A rush job, huh? Alright. I'm sure we can handle that." The Dwarf replied. "We can do this job for about thirty thousand, for the rush job another five thousand. Sound fair?"
"Yes. That sounds fine." I agreed.
"Do you want it now?" Kershka asked.
"Well, if you have it now, we can begin tomorrow." The Dwarf said.
"Okay." Kershka said. "Um. You have a table?"
The Dwarf said, "That one over there will do just fine." I heard him walk over to the table. And I heard metal being added to it. The Dwarf said, "Woah, that's enough." He moved stuff around, "You can take this part back. This is enough. Boys, put this in the treasury, we have a job to start tomorrow."
He took back what the Dwarf told him to, we thanked them, then headed out of the building and brought me close to the Bakery. There was a nice grassy area close to the river that flowed through Dueling Rivers. This is where Kershka and I sat to eat our honey rolls. They were delicious. My first bite of it, I squealed with joy at it's taste.
Kershka chuckled, "You like it?"
I turned to him, with my mouth full of nearly of whole roll and nodded. "Mhm!"
He chuckled again deeply, before eating his own rolls. Once we were done, we returned to his bench and spent the rest of the day there. Talking together and holding the egg. It was a wonderful way to pass the time. I stayed at the Inn again, and had dinner privately in my room with Kershka.
In the morning there was no incident, so I was able to get some breakfast, see Kershka and head out for my rounds. This time was pretty easy going, except my eyes bothered me all day. After a short nap in a tree, when I woke there were shapes and colors.. I opened and closed my eyes, it didn't help or fix it.
I raised my hands, and saw them. Still, I continued my rounds, trying to get used to my new found sight. The fifth day I was near Osgard's home. He was not home. But I ran into him a little ways past his home. My eyes were closed, as I'd been keeping them since recovering my sight, but I heard him moving.
When I'd asked if it was Osgard nearby, he answered it was, and I recognized the voice, so I asked, "What did you learn about the goblins?"
"They are peaceful. Trying to find a place to make a home away from everyone else. The leader is a rational hogoblin champion. He solves his clans problems with logic rather than force." Osgard explained.
"I see. They are not having luck? Is there any way I can meet with the leader?" I asked.
"I could try to set it up. They want to live at the top of the mountain far away from humans especially. They seem to have had to many run ins with them." Osgard said.
"I understand. But I can explain their situation to the Queen and she can easily organize something and extend protections to them." I said. "I think that would be better than a scarce space. Goblins eat like mini giants, after all."
"That is true. I will try to set up a meeting. I hope they will accept." He said.
"Now for a personal question. Would you like me to train you to do the Ranger job?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Osgard asked.
"I plan on having babies with Kershka. And a boy named Isarial gave him a Fey Spider egg that shape shifts into a human-shape, so we're going to have a child to rear soon. I was hoping if you'd be interested, I can train you and you can be paid for the job while I have to tend my babies. I promise that once the babies are on solids that I will take back over, and I'll only need around three to four months before birth away. Also, please don't feel pressured. I can have the Queen set up a co-Ranger for me." I explained.
"What would be my responsibilities? I only check around and look for trouble to stop." Osgard said.
"That's fine. So, the duties are to check the numbers of animals and cross reference it against the number of people around, check for poachers, stop poachers per law, first encounter is fine, second is fine and potential jailing, third is removing arm, and fourth is execution. Either by the Ranger, or the local Lord. You also must report to the lord weekly what your findings are, which I can help you with, and to the Queen monthly. You must note all monster and animal movements, too. It's easier with time." I detailed.
"I don't know. Tilton may accept me, but I'm sure it would be annoying for him to answer people's questions of why he opens his door to no one." Osgard said.
"Annoyance doesn't matter. But I can deliver the reports for you, if you prefer. Kershka and I are having our home built outside of the direct eyes of people, you may have seen it, it was started five days ago, south of a large mansion. You are welcome to visit us, by the way." I told him.
"Thank you. I will think on your words. It does sound good to be apart of something like that." Osgard said.
I smiled. "Well, in four days I will begin my rounds again. If you would like to have some experience, you can come with me and see how I do the job. It may help with your decision. What do you think?"
"Alright. Where should I meet you?" Osgard asked.
"You can meet me along the Southern path, in the morning. It will be nice to have company." I said.
"Alright, I will see you there. I'm off to see if I can get a meeting with the goblin leader." Osgard said.
"Thank you. Stop by our house some time after we've settled in, and I will make you some apple turnovers. It's like a pie." I told him, turning to leave.
"Thank you. I will visit you. I enjoy our talks, good bye." He said, heading off as well.
I finished the rest of my rounds and carried out writing my reports. I found that if I looked at it while writing, my writing became atrocious. So I just kept my eyes closed. Kershka was right, my writing was beautiful. Either way, in the morning at my usual time, I went and knocked on Tilton's door.
He opened the door. "Hello, Vern. Time for the report?"
"Yes." I answered with my eyes shut, offering him the report.
"Why are you closing your eyes? Isn't that a bit pointless for you? I don't mean to offend, it just strikes me as odd." Tilton asked.
"Well.. Because my eyes have recovered and I find them uncomfortable currently. I suspect that it may have been what Bibs meant when he said the potion would cause a complete rejuvenation.." I explained.
"Ah, well when you are used to them again, I will be able to stop trying and failing to remember you were blind." Titlon said.
I laughed. "I wonder how Kershka will feel about it. But I suppose, at least I will see our future children with my own eyes."
"Well, that is certainly a good way to look at it." Tilton said.
"Yes. Is there anything we need to cover?" I asked.
"Not today, no. I will see you later, Vern." Tilton said.
"Yes, Tilton. I will see you later." I joked with a gleeful grin, I waved and turning, heading for Kershka's usual location. I wasn't positive he'd be there, but that was where I was starting.
I got to the area and heard nothing going on, I opened my eyes and looked around briefly. He was indeed not around. So I selected the next place he may be, which I guessed would be where our home was being built. I closed my eyes and headed that way. I was able to confirm that he was there because Biri was with him. She'd spun and rushed to me. She's always running to me.
"Hello, Vern! They are doing good work on our home." Kershka called.
I smiled and approached him, touched Biri to guide me, as I was accustomed to. "We should talk." I said, once next to him.
"Okay. Here or back at the bench?" He asked.
"It does not matter much. Anywhere you ike is fine." I said.
"Okay, we can sit by the pond. It's pretty like you." Kershka told me.
I went with him, and we sat comfortably with Biri snuggling us. After a moment, I heard Shaska, too. "Have you been well?"
"I have been extra excited all week thinking about the house. Have you been okay on your patrol?" He asked.
"Yes. But the strangest thing occurred. I suddenly got my eyesight back." I told him.
He shifted to look at me. "Really? Did Bibs do it? Your eyes hurt?"
I opened my eyes and looked at him. "It's uncomfortable to use them. A bit overwhelming. I do think it was the potion he have me that did it. I'm not upset. This means I can see our babies with my own eyes."
"Your eyes are the night sky." He cupped my cheek. "Very pretty."
"Thank you." I said, leaning my head into his hand. "I do think you're handsome, still."
"Oh good, cause I did not want to have to fix it." Kershka joked.
I laughed. Biri was staring at me then asked if she was pretty. "Yes, Biri, you are beautiful, too." I told her, stroking her head.
"Is she feeling unpaid attention to?" Kershka asked.
"A little, yeah. We're a team, and we've been together since she hatched. I've missed her on my rounds, and it's mutual." I said. "I see Aiko hasn't hatched yet."
"No, little Aiko is still sleeping." Kershka said.
"Well, that's alright. Our first baby can take their time." I said. "I am going to be taking Osgard with me on my rounds tomorrow."
"Why?" Kershka asked. "Has he asked to join you?"
"No, I asked him if he'd like to be trained to do the Ranger job to cover my absences when we have our babies. He's uncertain, so I offered to show him the duties this week, so he's better informed." I explained. "If he decides he doesn't want to, I will have to talk to the queen about it."
"Okay, he would be a good substitute, he is very sneaky." Kershka said.
"It's my responsibility to make sure I am replaced if I choose to compromise my health in a way that hinders my job. So I will do so before we start trying for babies." I said, smiling at him.
"Very responsible." Kershka chuckled. "Is there anything you'd like to go see?"
"I'm not sure. We can see nuthing you'd ike to show me." I said, leaning close to him and kissing his shoulder.
He kissed the top of my head. "Have you seen Hearthstone Town?"
"No, I haven't. You're the first one I wanted to see." I said, blushing slightly.
He scooped me up, and nuzzled me. "I love you, I am glad I am the first to see your eyes."
I placed my hands on his face, and kissed him. "I love you, too, Kershka."
He smiled broadly, giving me a tight hug. "Do you want to go now?"
"If you'd like to. I am fine doing anything you'd like." I replied.
"I think you will like it." Kershka said.
I smiled. "I'm sure I will. I should organize my job so that I can have a week off to spend time with you."
"You will not get an argument from me." Kershka said.
"What if I want to argue?" I joked, grinning as he carried me aong towards Hearthstone.
He looked down at me. "Oh? How do you want to argue?"
"I don't know. I'm pretty happy with you." I replied.
We'd just reached the road when a girl greeted him in Giant. "*Hi, Kershka! Goin' to Hearthstone?*"
"*Yep, heading to show it off.*" He replied.
I saw matching Elves approaching. Both blonde and blue eyed, one an energetic girl, the other a reserved boy. Following them was a green elf woman and a blonde human man. The girl switched language to Elvish, "'Oh, hi there, hadn't seen you.'"
"*Hello, I am Vern.*" I replied.
"Hello, Kershka, how are you? I feel it's been ages." The man greeted him.
"Hello, Alex." Kershka said. "It has been a while. I am taking Vern to Hearthstone. This is Vern."
"Oh? She new to town? Showing her all the sights?" Alex asked.
"He is, as it is very recent that I can see again." I replied.
"Oh, really? Well, Hearthstone will be quite the sight, I guarantee it." Alex said.
"I am already satisfied with seeing Kershka." I stated.
"Ohh, really? Well, we can agree. He is quite the sight to behold." Alex said. "How did you two.. meet?"
"I got lost in town after Biri helped Gregor lie." I said.
"Well, that's an interesting story that I'd love to hear." Alex said.
"Oh, some adventurers were being noisy and one in particular had an annoying nasally voice. Biri decided to make them quiet down so picked one up and started pretending to want to eat his head." I scowled at her. "I called her back to me, and so the group decided to confront me. This is when Gregor arrived and scolded them, I explained what actually happened and he said to help him out so he can sent the adventurers for training... So Biri decided to over act being traumatized and ran away. As I was blind, I took a wrong turn and ended up near Kershka."
"Funny how the fates weave the world to take us were we need to be. Well, I'm glad it happened, either way." Alex said.
I wrapped my arms around Kershka's neck. "Me too."
He kissed the top of my head. "What you up to today, Alex?"
"Just playing with the family, Big Guy." Alex replied.
"Yup. Got our instruments!" The girl said.
The green Elf interjected, then. "Pardon our rudeness. My name is Sylvia, this is Alexander, and these are our twins, Alexion and Sienna."
"I did not feel as though it was rude. I am Lavern, or Vern preferably, and the dragon is Biri. It's good to meet more of Kershka's friends." I said.
"Out of curiosity, might I ask why you've come to the Earth?" Sylvia asked.
I hesitated, thinking on it before saying, "I don't understand."
"You are an Astral Elf, are you not?" Sylvia asked.
"I could be. I was raised by Hill Giants." I replied.
"Oh. That's interesting. So, yes. You are an Astral Elf. Typically, they would be in the Astral Plane, where dead gods reside." Sylvia said.
"Gods die?" I asked.
"Everything dies." Sylvia responded. "I suppose you would not know how you came to the Earth, and that you have no interest in returning."
"I have no knowledge of the Astral Plane." I said.
"That's alright." Sylvia replied.
"How can a dead thing go somewhere? Are they undead?" Kershka asked.
"No, it is just where the other gods send their fallen brethren. Though, there are undead gods." Sylvia said.
"Spooky." Kershka said.
"Just think of it as a star. Vern is one of the stars." Sylvia said.
"A very bright star. Like her eyes." Kershka said.
Sienna giggled, "Aww. You're a cute couple."
I smiled as we continued on, heading to Hearthstone. Sienna chatted to us freely, and I answered her questions when she asked them, noting that Kershka was happy to let her chatter. When we entered, I saw it had intricate carvings along the walls. I couldn't really make them out, but that wasn't what we were here for.
We entered the left tunnel, heading into the town portion. It was impressive. A medical building, and an open building for serving food was here, along with plenty of smaller houses. Then we headed downstairs seeing all kinds of businesses and family homes. There was even a school and teleportation circle.
It was a little overwhelming to the point that I shut my eyes. It was more comfortable that way. I just took an occasional peak around, or if Kershka asked me to see something. I could hear Alex and his family playing music together. It was quite the unique place, I could sense that people were truly at ease with one another here.
"What do you think?" Kershka asked.
"I think that this place is very different than most places. It doesn't have the shadows of a city, but I also believe it's new, isn't it?" I asked.
"Very. Very new. Many don't believe it exists." Kershka said.
"I can see why. But it's definitely worth a look around." I said, I heard Adelaide and some chidren as we headed back up to leave.
"Hello Vern, hello Kershka, what are you two up to?" Adelaide said.
"Kershka is showing me around. My sight has been restored by one of Bibs' potions. You look lovely, Adelaide. Not at all like how I pictured you. Not that it's a bad thing." I said.
"Out of curiosity, how did you imagine me to be?" Adelaide asked.
"You sound like a gentle and small framed lady. Instead, you look quite strong." I said.
"Well, I was the arena champion for quite a few years, and I do enjoy a good brawl." Adelaide said.
I gave a horrified expression, then said, "I hope that I am not misunderstanding.. what is the Arena here?"
"It's a place for.. essentially warriors to test themselves. Earn some money." Adelaide replied.
"So... it's just sport for coin..?" I asked.
"Yes. Essentially." Adelaide said.
I let out a breath. "In the Empire the Arena is a punishment you get sentenced to for heinous crimes. If you become the champion, after a few years you are allegedly released."
"Ah. Definitely not the same." Adelaide replied.
I relaxed more. "Good. You had me quite alarmed. I had to remember that I now lived in yet another continent."
"Your.. home sounds a little rough to me. But that's just my opinion." Adelaide said. "The arena here, like I said, is just for sport. In my case, I was trying to die, but that's besides the point."
"Oh, it's not so bad. There are welfare programs, the nobility are too busy keeping their heads to be bothering folk. I do think that Hearthstone does it better." I said.
"My boy does it right." Adelaide said. "I'm surprised the Queen hasn't caled on him for consultation yet. The Sultan has."
"I assure you, if the Queen calls him, it's too late. I have known Vexie since she was a kitten. Taught her to be a ranger, even. I am glad she planted that bamboo orchard. Her aunt deserved it." I said.
"Is that some kind of memorial thing? I'm sorry, I'm not knowledgeable of the custome." Adelaide said.
"Oh, no. Well, sort of. In this case, planting bamboo is a most agonizing way to execute someone for treason. You see, bamboo grows very quickly in nearly impossible situations. It grows through people, if they are tied down over the sprouts." I explained.
"Oh. What an unfortunate family dynamic." Adelaide said.
"That entire thing sounds horrible." Kershka said.
"Yes. But it doesn't last long." I told him.
"How long is not long?" Kershka asked.
"Fjell Hjerte, I can not answer your question." I replied.
"Okay. I wil just take it as quick." Kershka said.
"I will also take it as just quick. That sounds incredibly painful." Adelaide said.
"Yes. The Tigrine have many... harsh capital punishments. Like for people whose children pass due to neglect. A starved rat gets placed on the belly, a metal bucket placed over it, then the bucket starts getting heated." I said.
Kershka placed a hand on my shoulder. "Please stop."
I nodded. "Alright, Hjerte."
"Bad people need punishments.. but that's a lot." He said.
"If it helps any, such punishments haven't been used in at least a hundred years. It's left for very extreme cases." I explained, patting his hand.