Illaria and her folks

  Illaria walked across the lawn to the porch of the boarding house. Edis sat upon a rocking chair, gently rocking himself back and forth. He looked more tired than the last time she had seen him. Perhaps he had been spending too much time pruning their fairly well-manicured lawn.

  "Edis, I do be having a question for you." Illaria sang to him as she quickly took the dark gray steps up to him.

  "Oh Illaria! You've really done the banners proud. Back in my day with the Green Banner, I'd gladly have gone to war with you. To think you bested Crowley, that Pirate’s been a scourge to the Empire for nearly as long as I can remember, and I can remember a long way back. They said you spilled his intestines all over the deck and that he was hung by them when you kicked him overboard. Is that true?" The old man asked as he did little to move himself except bounce his chair back and forth.

  "I see we both be having questions for each other," Illaria stated. "I took his hand, not his intestines. For all we know, the bastard may still be alive. He fell overboard, but that doesn't mean he died." Illaria said, leaving out the bit where he had clearly had infernal assistance and that the magic could have sheltered him or whisked him away to somewhere far safer than that battlefield.

  "Ah, not quite as exciting, but was it at least on a flying boat like the rumors say?" Edis asked.

  "The bards do be getting that right. We clashed blades upon a flying ship named The Audacity Six."

  "That sounds fascinating; I've never been on a flying ship before. Now, come tell me, what was it you wanted to ask me?" He asked as he leaned forward and opened his eyes a bit wider to view her.

  "My Mom and Pa were wondering if they could be renting a room here at your boarding house? They be feeling it too much of a burden to be staying with me in the tower. I tried to talk them into it till the wind left my sails, but they wouldn't budge."

  "Oh, absolutely! We have space for them. They can start moving in right away, deary; we'll sort out the price later." He said as he pulled out a key and stood up gingerly. He gently pressed the key into her hands, giving her a warm smile.

  "Do you be alright, Edis? You didn't be seeming to move so stiffly at the block party." Illaria commented as the iron key in her hand felt heavy in her palms for something so small.

  "Aye, well, you see, Illaria. Your friend Hoc asked me to assist him with some of his training. So I've been going out into the woods around Sha-Laial with him and teaching him some of the ol' Green Banner tricks. So I'm just a bit sore. I'm not sure who's more upset about it, though, my wife or the church. Boys getting too strong too quickly, according to his superiors."

  "It be sounding like you both better take it a little bit slower then. Green Banner training is no doubt helpful to him, but lets not be getting him expelled from the church or the like." Illaria replied. With Echo's help, she and her parents easily moved in what meager possessions they had acquired for them. Much to Illaria's delight, the boarding house room came partially furnished. Meaning they wouldn't need to haul every luxury her parents deserved here for their comfort. A solid bed and worn and used nightstands were more than a good enough start. She lingered over long with the pair as they enjoyed some hot tea as the sun's golden rays cast a comforting glow throughout the room.

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  Illaria took a deep breath. It had been such a long time since she had felt this weightless. As if she could float away from everything. Her parents were safe, and she could go anywhere and do anything. She'd go to Alvec and give him the news about Hoc getting into trouble, then visit the tavern. It was time to knock back a glass and give her praise to the god of travelers.

  Mavec

  Mavec slammed the door open with passion and purpose as he strode into the law firm once more. "KROG, you here?" He asked as he pushed his way through the cramped hallway toward a slightly more accommodating kitchen. A few moments later, the orc man in a charcoal gray suit pushed his way into the room from the opposite direction.

  "Mavec, what brings you here today? The issue with the taxes should be settled. You wouldn't have more business for us, would you?"

  Mavec snapped his fingers and placed a hand on his chest. "We're your best clients; of course, I've got more work for you."

  "What do you have going on? Nothing with the Gold Banner this time, right?" he asked as he ran a large hand through his hair.

  "No, as far as we know, we won't be having any dealings with them," Mavec replied, lying as best he could.

  "Then who are you pointing us at this time?" He asked.

  "Oh, just Warren Alston. We're bringing a lawsuit for breach of contract on behalf of the boar eater tribe of goblins. He was supposed to find their god-queen Dogmother but never presented them with the information. We have his bite marks on a piece of leather proving he signed the contract with Boogie and Boozie, the heads of the tribe."

  Krog nodded along as if any of it made sense to him. "Alright, we can do that. Does the Academy know his whereabouts? I can imagine serving a wizard papers may be difficult if he isn't already located and in some way restrained."

  "Don't worry; we saw to that already. The Academy has him under house arrest. We came to you as soon as we got back into town."

  "Alright, we'll plan to head there tomorrow and resolve this. Are there any other surprises we should be anticipating?'" Krog asked.

  "Yeah, actually. Even more important than helping the goblins... we need to know what happened to something he stole. Can you promise not to tell anyone?" Mavec said, leaning closer.

  "And betray the trust of our best clients? Of course not. I won't tell anyone outside of my business partners."

  "That's fair, Krog. Alright, we found Alusai's final resting place. He built a facility in the hills in the Tsuhomma Downs. Alston also found it and stole a pick of formulae. We need it back immediately. There's a specific recipe we must get our hands on immediately for the defense of the Empire."

  "That is a fascinating story, but what exactly do we need to be defended against?" Krog asked as he tilted his head at him. "More infernal plots?"

  Mavec smiled wide, the light not quite reaching his eyes. "I wish it were that simple. I'd take an army of Devils over whatever the fuck Kavaas is. The foul light. He's some pre-historic threat that was defeated by the first Emperor and Akrixi." Mavec explained the rest passively. All the crazy bits of information that had led them to his moment and why it was imperative that they acquire the method to make ferrous mercury.

  "By Kushang, we'll convince him to hand it over. Perhaps we can offer to clean up the mess with the goblins. Perhaps that will be enough to sway him to hand over that information to you." Krog said.

  "We can only hope. Tomorrow then," Mavec said. Krog nodded in agreement, and the two went their separate way to prepare.