Chương 114: 113: A Return Pt 2

I spent the rest of the afternoon talking with Jac and Bryce while we watched the grill. I definitely drank a couple of beers to calm my nerves. Bryce in particular had a lot of questions about the two men once I told him they'd both evolved during their mission. Jac agreed with my assessment that Bryce's fighting in formation in the army was most likely why he'd never made it to tier 2. Jac's own evolution came after he'd been cut off from the rest of his formation during a fight more than forty years ago.

He had been knocked out by a rock thrown by a troll, and his previous horse had bolted the wrong way. By the time he came to, he was miles behind enemy lines. He'd had to kill a shaman and a hill troll before scattering a squad of goblins to make it back. By the time Jac's tale was over, Bryce had the kind of look in his eye that made me nervous. As many years as he had fought, there was a good chance he'd be close to level forty already if he managed to get to tier 2.

By 5 o'clock, the women had all the blackberries simmering on the industrial kitchen of the manor. Despite the excitement of the morning, that wasn't too far behind schedule. The ribs were done, and I got steaks ready for anyone who wanted them as they asked. People on Talamh liked their steaks well done since parasites in the meat were an issue. Despite the risk, I just couldn't make myself burn my own. Medium was as cooked as I could make myself do. Tonight I was sticking to ribs, anyway.

We had pasta salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing and cherry tomatoes, as well as a huge salad and a big variety of vegetables that I'd grilled up on a griddle I had Seamus make for my grill. Hari came out to grab a couple plates, and he marveled at my new beach setup with the grill and fire pit. He assured me he'dd join us once Glenn had eaten. I told him we'd be out here once he was ready. Ginny had made her kids crank out the ice cream machine, so we had plenty of blackberry ice cream for dessert.

She hadn't quite figured out how to make it in quantities that would make it commercially viable, but now that I had my cooling runes that wouldn't cost her a fortune, she was getting closer. Emily still wasn't showing yet. She was only a couple months along, but I thought she looked radiant as I watched her from the grill. Her dark hair was up in a messy bun since she'd been cooking all day, but she looked happy and animated as she talked with all the other ladies here tonight.

She'd put on enough weight over the last year that she no longer looked gaunt. On Earth she'd still probably be considered petite, but here on Talamh, where everyone did so much more physical labor, she wasn't thinner than most other women anymore. I finally noticed Cara giving Bryce suggestive looks, and couldn't believe I'd missed it! Hopefully, that relationship would stop Bryce from going off and doing something ill-conceived. Finally, around 8 p. m. Hari came back out.

I asked him if he was up for talking about their ordeal, and when he said he was, we made a circle on the beach and handed him a beer. He thanked me, then started telling his story. Initially, they'd journeyed to the mountains and begun looking for unknown passes. They'd found warg tracks heading south, so they went north to see if they could find where the goblins were getting over.

During the course of an entire month, they made it two hundred miles to the north, making frequent trips down into the foothills to hunt and fish to replenish their supplies. They encountered small groups of goblins several times, but they never engaged with them. Thirty-one days in, they came upon a small encampment that had crude fortifications of staked tree trunks. Over the course of three days of surveillance, they saw that there was a tunnel into the mountain. It took them another three days to disengage.

They talked about heading back to Weston right then, but they still hadn't evolved yet. Their news was huge, but it wasn't like they'd seen numbers that Weston couldn't handle. They moved much faster heading back down south. When they'd traveled three hundred miles south, they found a second encampment. This one had cleverly disguised fortifications that were hidden from direct view thanks to a crevice in the mountain that hid the stone walls they'd set up.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. This fortification looked far more permanent. After several days they were discovered, and they killed a shaman and the hill troll. They still hadn't gotten evolution notifications, but they knew they had to make it back to warn about what they'd found anyway. They had to fight a running battle over the course of a week to make it back here. Glenn had taken his arrow wound three days earlier.

They only received their notifications when the squad found them, and they gave them their information and maps. Apparently, one of the squad had already gone towards Weston to give the mayor the news. Jac asked them what their plans were for their classes. Hari said they actually didn't know. They both thought about taking Recon, but they didn't know if they really wanted to join the army again.

They were plenty young enough, especially since they'd be evolving soon, but if they did they'd go Recon, if not, then one would go Recon and the other probably the Pathfinder route. It would help with their Homesteader classes. As the two men talked, I really looked at Hari. He had been a fit man, but he wasn't stocky. Now, his face was lined, and he looked as thin as Emily and Colin had been when I first met them. Hopefully, getting some weight back on would do wonders for those lines.

He had at least another hundred and twenty or thirty years ahead of him if he never got another level. He scanned his surroundings frequently and never looked fully at ease. It looked to me like he was suffering from a little PTSD. He and Glenn had triggered their evolutions, but it was pretty clear it wasn't without cost. I really wished that Colin were here to see this. If he chose to go this route while he was still a teenager, it would shape his very long life before it had really even started.

That's if he didn't die in the attempt. Around full dark, which wasn't until around this time of year, everyone but Emily and I headed off to bed. We still needed to do chores and finish up all the blackberry preserves tomorrow. Once everyone was gone, Emily came over and cozied up on my chair with me, and I wrapped my arms around her. Down here by the river, it was just cool enough that her extra body heat was perfect.

The sound of the water provided soothing background noise, and we stared at the remains of the glowing embers from the logs in the fire pit as we just sat in silence for a while. I squeezed Emily and put my hand on her belly, thinking about our soon to come child. She could sense my thoughts, and she put her hands on top of mine. They weren't the delicate hands of someone who didn't know hard labor. Her hands were rough and had callouses on them. They were still beautiful to me.

She leaned her head back against my chest. I could smell the floral scent of her shampoo, mixing in with the scent of the fire and the water. I couldn't imagine myself being any happier anywhere else in two worlds than I was right now. After fifteen minutes, Emily finally spoke.

"I am so worried about Colin. I just cannot imagine him coming back looking like Hari and Glenn at his age."

"I know, love," I said softly. There was emotion in her voice as she said, "What are we going to do? I know I cannot force him to stay, but if he does go, he will have to do something like this all on his own." I sighed. She was right.

"Tomorrow I'll talk to Glenn and Hari and see what they think. If they're on our side I'll ask them to talk to him." She squeezed my hand with both of hers.

"I think that would be for the best. They are wonderful men. I think Colin would listen to them."

"They are," I said.

"I'm thinking of asking them to stay on the homestead after they evolve. They could base themselves out here. We have everything they'd need." Emily tensed up just a bit. She took a few seconds before she responded.

"Do you think they will accept? We both know what their true relationship is. It will be difficult for them to provide the," she paused as she searched for the right words.

"Proper pretext that makes it socially acceptable." I'd thought about that. Their relationship would be technically legal under Empire law. If I remembered correctly, the ancient Celts were remarkably accepting of homosexuality, but today's Empire wasn't as open as Arthur and Merlotus had been. I guess they couldn't change everything when they came here. I said, "Excuse my language, but I don't give a damn. And they're about to be Tier 2.

For good and bad, people can get away with a lot more once they're powerful enough to matter." I laughed and said, "Just look at us. I'm an outworlder, and you were squatting on this land last year, and now, we're important enough that some of the most powerful people in the empire are out here protecting us. I'm trying to build a community out here, and I consider Hari and Glenn family."

Emily snuggled into me even tighter for a moment, then, in a mischievous tone, said, "So you're giving up on one day at a time and trying out, family and community now?" I couldn't help myself. I just started laughing.

"One day at a time wasn't a great motto." She agreed.

"No, but we might need to workshop Family and Community as well." I gave her a mock gasp and said, "How dare you!" After that, our conversation died down, and we just enjoyed each other's company for a while. A short while later, I felt Emily's breathing even out. She'd fallen asleep. I waited another fifteen minutes to make sure she was fully asleep, and I tensed my core muscles and smoothly picked both of us up without disturbing her. Being high level had its perks. Emily's weight was practically nothing.

When we got to our bedroom, I gently took her shoes off, then put her to bed fully clothed rather than wake her up. I got undressed, then got into bed, snuggled up to her, and was asleep in under a minute.