Chương 31: 30 The Coppersmeldt Clubhouse

"You sure we're not intruding?" Elara asked, a bottle of fine wine tucked under one arm, and a paper-wrapped loaf of spicy cheese bread balanced on her hand. Out of her smuggler's clothes, she wore civilian attire—brown trousers and a loose, sleeveless cotton shirt that exposed her toned green arms. She couldn't hide the marine. She still walked straight-backed, her eyes ever vigilant, even here in the Coppersmeldt Hall.

"You're fine," I said, casting a glance at Ingred as we ascended the stone stairs toward the clubhouse.

"You'll meet Mama and my sister. It's just a small group."

"Well," Ingred said over her shoulder.

"I have a lot of siblings." Felipe followed behind the Lieutenant, a white streak of hair swept back. The smell of honeyed ham drifted from the wax-wrapped package in his hand. Delrid carried an accordion, arms through straps that held the instrument to his chest. Roland's harmonica dangled from a cord around his neck, and his hands shuffled cards in the air as he walked. The marines had agreed to come celebrate with us after we had pulled into port at Rafael's Cove. I was more worried about my other two teammates.

Naomi glanced about the Dwarven masonry, surer in her step than she had been at the graduation celebration. That was good. Bianca—she clutched her elbow, casting almost nervous glances around the chamber. She hadn't been with us at the post-graduation party, and now that we were back to civilized society, she'd shrunk back into her shell.

"Shame Captain Thalendris couldn't make it," I said.

"Cap'n is a bit of a shut-in," Grixx announced from the back. Twitch's nose ventured out from his vest, whiskers shivering as the rat sniffed the air.

"All good, you got me!" The first mate of the Silver Zephyr carried a full wheel of cheese, the round huge in his goblin hands.

"Alright," Ingred said as the stairs ended at a doorway.

"I told them to behave, but things could get rowdy." She pushed the door open. The clubhouse was dark. I frowned, tugging at my watch chain. Were we early? Mamma and Elena were supposed to be here already. A fire flashed, roaring in the fireplace; dozens of lamps and torches sparked to life with alchemical brightness.

"Welcome home, Ingred!" about forty dwarves roared in the sudden light. Ingred's eyes went wide. Then a grin spread across her face. Three of her cousins, carrying a fiddle, a guitar, and castanets, ripped into a melody as her siblings flooded toward her. I stepped out of the doorway, a smile tugging at my lips.

"It was supposed to be small," I said apologetically to Elara and her men.

"Coppersmeldts don't actually know how to do small." Delrid's aquatic eyes locked onto the musicians, and he rushed to join them with the accordion. Roland and Felipe grinned, taking in the stone pillars and tables.

"Should have brought more," Felipe said, hoisting his paper-wrapped offering.

"We'll be fine," I said, nodding at the boar on a platter, complete with an apple in its mouth.

"Hear ye all!" Mister Valentini called, grabbing his daughter's hand and holding it high.

"My daughter has come back from her first quest. Ol' Titangavel needs to watch out. My girl might take his place as an Aunt!" The Coppersmeldts roared with laughter, several already passing out foaming mugs. I scanned the crowd, finding Mama and Elena surfing through an ocean of dwarflings.

"Uncle Tony!" the triplets called, rushing me.

"There they are!" I cried, squatting low and spreading my arms. I gathered all three, sending peals of laughter as I stood.

"Did you fight a dragon?" one of them asked as they poked me squarely in the cheek—probably Relrik, or was it Charlik? Impossible to tell; I had no idea how Ingred could tell her siblings apart.

"A dragon?" I cried.

"No way. But a Fire Genie—" All three identical sets of eyes went wide.

"I'll tell you, but you'd better eat all of your dinner first."

"We will!" They all squirmed in my arms, and I almost dropped one before I could return them to the ground. They rushed to the shorter kids' table, eager to meet my conditions. Naomi appeared at my side, arms folded, her lips pressed into a tight line. I was no psionic, but I knew what she was thinking.

"Any word from your mother?" I asked. Naomi shrugged, her face neutral.

"She says congratulations and regrets that she can't be here."

"More problems with the Burrow King?" I asked. She nodded.

"He almost made it into Zalathor's crypt." She glanced at me.

"Mother's worried."

"Are you?" I asked. She glanced at me, forcing a smile.

"Flavia Myrkrath can take care of things on Fel Rock." She slapped my arm.

"We're here to celebrate, right?" I smiled.

"Your team needs you. Have fun." She lightly punched my shoulder, then started forward.

"Hey, Naomi." She turned back.

"Look, I know Mama and the Coppersmeldts can never replace real family, but if you let them, they can come tex close."

"You know what?" she said, scanning the hall.

"For once, you might actually be right." A gaggle of dwarven children shrieked with delight as they crowded around Grixx. The goblin brought his pet rat out from his vest. I grinned, but my smile faltered at the sight of Bianca. She'd barely made it past the door, leaning against the wall, eyes twitching as she took in the movement and the noise. I chewed my tongue. Getting her here was a great first step, but not if she was uncomfortable. I crossed over to her.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," she responded, shoulders loosening a bit.

"Your face looks clear." My spine stiffened. My rashes. After taking my mutagens, I looked as pure a human as she did.

"Looks good," she said, no judgment.

"Ah," Mama said, coming up behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You must be Bianca! Tony has told me great things about you!" She nudged me.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Right," I said.

"Mama, Bianca—Bianca, Mama." Bianca's arms dropped to her sides.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Moretti."

"Please," Mama said, waving dismissively.

"Call me Livia. Did you get some food?"

"I—no," Bianca said.

"Well, let me walk you through it. They've got a bit of a system here; it can be confusing." Both women headed for the food table.

"So tell me, Bianca, where did you…" I watched them go, a well of gratitude for Mama blooming within me. I couldn't express why, but it was important that everyone had a place. No outcasts. Mama was the same way; maybe that's where I'd gotten it. I stood by myself for a long moment, taking in the hearth's warmth—not offensive or oppressive like the heat of Scorched Rock—but comfortable like a thick blanket and a cup of warm cider. This was Paradise. This was who I was.

I tried to capture the moment, to make a deliberate memory. I took in the sound, the smell, the feeling, forming a bubble I could revisit later. Delrid steered the other musicians into starting a dwarven line jig. Miners, who were no doubt tired after a hard day, perked up, finding a spike of energy in the accordion melody, and they rushed to form ranks. My grin almost hurt.

"Tony!" Ingred called, joining the line and waving me over. One of Ingred's aunts rushed back, vacating the position beside her. I took it. Shuffle, step, clap. Stomp-stomp, hop-hop. Dozens of boots thundered in unison. Ingred glanced up as everyone spun, facing the back. I winked, and her cheeks reddened as I committed. Dancing was a whole body affair, not just feet or hands. My greatest weapon was my hips, and as a fencer, I knew how to use them. You might be reading a stolen copy.

Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Naomi watched from the sidelines, fighting a smirk as I towered over the other dancers. Bianca sat with Mama and Elena, finally laughing at whatever they were talking about. Elara joined the line, cheeks ruddy from wine. The half-Orc stumbled along, several steps behind. A pair of enthusiastic drunken lads flanked her, words slurring as they called out the dance's steps. She staggered to the music. Shuffle, step, clap. Stomp-stomp, hop-hop. I was home.

The music and dancing continued for hours, then the mothers put exhausted kids to bed, and the guests who'd over-committed to drink slumped over the tables. Elara was one of those. I was helping clean up by the time I noticed Bianca had slipped away. She'd chatted with Mama and Elena for hours. Even if she left alone, she'd been a part of the party. That felt like a win. Naomi helped stack chairs and then headed up to the balcony. I watched her go.

Ingred carried the dishes from the table across from me and put them in a tub.

"Is she okay?" she asked. I nodded.

"You and I, we have a lot more support here in Paradise." I shifted my attention to the table, gathering a pair of almost empty plates.

"Her mother didn't even make it to her graduation."

"Guess that's the downside to being the daughter of a sovereign ruler," Ingred said, setting the bucket of dishes down.

"Yeah," I agreed, hesitating by her grandfather, who snored, head down on the tin plate. I gingerly moved the dwarf's beard, then lifted his head, sliding the dish free.

"Thanks for this," I said, scraping the plate into the pig bowl.

"It's times like these that really draw us together as a team." Ingred drew a rag from a soapy basin and slapped it on the table.

"Yeah." She glanced up toward the balcony.

"We really do have a good team, don't we?" I found myself nodding as I leaned over the table.

"We do." She glanced at me before wiping the lacquered wood.

"You know something?"

"Huh?" I asked, looking for another rag. I didn't see one. She looked up to meet my eyes.

"During orientation for cadet school, I remember being terrified. I was going to try out to be a Cousin. Getting put into a room full of strangers was—well, it was intimidating." I nearly cut in with a stupid quip, but something told me this was the time to listen. She smiled at the memory.

"Then I saw you. What were the odds two kids from the same class made it all the way through selections, then ended up at the same party?"

"You recognized me?" I asked, lips twitching up.

"I know our families have gotten close, but even then?"

"Are you kidding me?" She picked at her palm.

"You're Tony Moretti; everyone knew who you were."

"Right," I said.

"The weird kid with the rashes. The one who never did his homework and was always late." She chuckled, memories playing in her eyes.

"No, that's not it. You were the tall kid who went out of his way to include everyone."

"I failed classes every year," I said with a smirk.

"Summer school, thy name is Tony. No. You earned the best grades and demonstrated the greatest aptitude for magic. If anyone deserved to be here, it was you." A laugh escaped me, and I scratched my head.

"When I saw you were in my class of candidates, I almost didn't approach you. Ingred Valentini—smartest girl in school."

"You introduced yourself to me," she snickered.

"As if we hadn't been in the same class for years."

"I thought maybe you'd forgotten me!" I exclaimed, hands raised defensively.

"What if you didn't remember who I was?"

"Forget you?" she shook her head.

"I'm glad you approached me. I was too intimidated." A snore from Elara, who'd passed out near the hearth, split the air, and we both glanced over, grinning.

"You know," I said after a nostalgic pause.

"Thanks for being my friend. I think we make a good team." She shifted her weight to one leg and folded her arms.

"We do. It's a shame we didn't realize it earlier." I hummed in agreement and realized we were the only two still conscious in the clubhouse. The fire crackled softly behind her. We just looked at each other for a moment. Had her eyes always been so icy blue? Somewhere by the door, a tankard tipped as one of her uncles shifted in slumber. I glanced back, then up at the stairs Naomi had taken to the balcony.

"I'm going to check on Naomi," I said. Ingred cleared her throat, wiping a part of the table that I'm pretty sure she had already hit three times.

"Okay." I left, climbing stone steps. The Coppersmeldt hold was entirely subterranean, so their concept of a balcony was a little different from mine. The highest point in the clubhouse opened onto a terrace at street level rather than a higher story. Still, in the bowl-shaped cove city—what a view. Moonlight glimmered on ridges and reflected across waves. Lanterns and warm lights lit the white buildings like the glow of dragonflies.

Somewhere, several streets lower, a late-night carriage trundled across cobblestones. Naomi leaned over a rail, resting on her forearms. I softly cleared my throat, but she didn't budge. I cursed myself inwardly. Was this one of those times to give her space or company? I almost started back down, but I hesitated.

"You okay, Naomi?" I asked. She didn't respond, didn't turn. What to do with that?

"Hey, I wanted to say thanks for coming. I know you don't love doing stuff like this." Again, nothing. I squinted in the dark, trying to read something, anything. Her shoulders didn't tremble. She didn't tense. She remained fixed in place. Then she twitched, a pained grunt escaping her. The hair on my arms stood on end. The air felt suddenly thicker. Something was wrong. I cast my awareness to my inventory, where my swordbelt waited in extradimensional space. One mana and I could summon it straight to my hand.

I swept the streets, my ears straining. Nothing. I stole toward her, heartbeat speeding.

"Naomi," I said, stepping around her, light on my toes. Her eyelids fluttered, irises milky white. She spasmed, a single teardrop of blood running from the corner of her eye.

"Naomi!" I cried, stepping forward and grabbing her shoulder. She whirled on me, teeth bared as she snapped her palm up. My head rocked back, a molten drill bearing right into my brain. The world collapsed on itself, my consciousness inverting. A sphere of white light flashed in midnight darkness, sediment suspended in the air reflecting its glare. Then I was with him, my father. He grinned as he tossed me into the air, peals of laughter escaping me as I rose, then plummeted.

He had the same brown hair and eyes, though he wore his longer. Unlike me, he never had the rashes he'd passed to me. He laughed as he caught me before sending me skyward again. Thunder roared, white lightning flashing, and I was in the street, rain sleeting down.

"Stop!" my mother screamed behind me.

"Bring them back!" A scaled hand tightened around my thin wrist. Puppetmaster marched away from Mama, whose leg buckled under her awkwardly. Elena, still a young girl, screamed as she tried to pry her wrist from his other hand.

"Stop!" Mama shrieked, rising in the doorway of our home, rooms ravaged within. Lightning flashed again, and Puppetmaster stopped. A figure barred his way, leaning heavily on a trident. Wet crimson slicked the red and purple skin of his throat.

"No further, Vittorio," Lance called, flicking rain from his trident.

"Let the kids go." Puppetmaster's grip released from my wrist, and they came up defensively.

"Stand aside, Uncle," Puppetmaster growled through Draconic fangs, "Or I finish what I started." Elena seized my hand, jerking me back toward Mama. Thunder cracked, loud as a cannon.

"Tony!" Naomi exclaimed.

"Tex, Tony, can you hear me?" My eyes fluttered. Naomi hovered over me, the back of my head braced across her knee.

"What?" The details in her face sharpened. Then I flinched, throwing myself away from her palm, clutching my head.

"What the tex, Naomi? Was that a synaptic attack?" An ache throbbed in my mind, coming in waves.

"Tony, I'm so sorry," she said, rising.

"You startled me."

"You were having a seizure!" I snapped back.

"Or a trance or something." I winced. The ache budded sharply against the back of my right eye.

"I—" she choked.

"I didn't mean—""What's with you?" I blinked as my eyes watered, as if she had tossed sand into them.

"What—?" she scrambled for words.

"Black waves, Naomi. Does your class have some sort of drawbacks I need to be aware of? Because this could get us killed in the field." I dabbed the corner of my eye, expecting tears, but my finger came back with a red smear.

"I was—""You were what?" I growled, rage stoked by the searing brand in my head.

"I was listening," she said.

"And that means you get to attack your friends?" I wiped more blood out of my eye.

"No," she said, teeth clenched.

"I'm such an idiot. Tony—""What?" I demanded.

"I—" she stopped.

"I've been—" She shook her head.

"Never mind." I gripped both temples, pressing palms into them from either side. The pressure helped.

"I—shouldn't have snuck up on you," I managed at last, pain starting to clear.

"I've been hearing whispers," she said.

"In the wind." I glanced up at her face. Her lips drew tight, bags under her eyes dark on her face, and her jaw set. My hands dropped. I hadn't seen it before. She was terrified.

"Go on," I said. She bit her lip, glancing out over the bay as if worried something out on the waves could see her.

"It started on the docks," she said.

"When the Dagonite priest and I linked psionically. You interrupted something when you killed him." She hugged herself, shivering despite the warmth.

"It's like he was trying to plant a seed," she said, tapping her temple.

"In here."

"Well, let's take this to Granduncle," I said.

"We're getting another Psionic's opinion."

"No!" she exclaimed, then she wilted.

"I've got it under control. I've spent feat points to ensure it."

"Naomi," I said, voice softer.

"This is something we can fix. This is the type of thing you expose early, then work on, not something you hide."

"I told you, didn't I?" she asked, voice going soft. I shook my head.

"I'm no psionic. Let's get it checked out, and I'm sure we can—""What if it can't be fixed?" she burst.

"What if I'm compromised, and I get kicked off the High Family? What would that do to my mother's position? What would that do to me?" I watched her, startled by the edge to her words.

"Are you compromised?" I whispered. Her spine lengthened.

"No," she said.

"How do I know?" I asked.

"Tony," she said.

"Please. Don't tell anyone." I waited in silence, mind whirling.

"I care about you enough to do what you ask," I said. Her shoulders eased with relief.

"I also care enough about you to take this to the High Family if it becomes a problem." She stiffened.

"I've got it under control."

"I'll be the judge of that," I said.

"If anything changes, if it gets worse, if you feel it slipping, you bring it to me, do you understand?" She nodded.

"I do." I watched her levelly.

"Then, for now, we'll work on it internally. Within the party." She relaxed visibly. Behind her, and in the distance, a red crack shone in the sky, much more visible in the dark. <<Uncle Bruk Titangavel: Party (No name): Report to the Sanctum of the Seal to receive your next quest>> Naomi and I glanced at each other. We were both seeing it.

"Already?" I said. Then I grimaced.

"We still haven't named the party." Naomi was already grabbing her jacket. <<Time to Seal Collapse: 04: 01: 06: 01: 32: 00>>