Hello, Everyone!
Last time, my precious Mary had a fight with her friends. Aurum chased her all throughout Myth Adofhaer, they got into a scuffle, there was some mind-altering magic involved. Mary managed to get to a safe place and cried her eyes out.
But then, out of nowhere, her Patron, Gillean, summoned her to himself.
Gillean’s hut was bright and cozy. Mary was sitting in a leather armchair with her Patron across a small table filled with treats. He was holding a cup half way towards his mouth.
"Mary!" he said, his eyes worriedly studying her face. "You look upset. What’s wrong?"
Through tears, Mary told him everything: how she'd disappointed her friends, angered Tesaya and compromised her party in front of Balaine Endoras.
"I… I... I didn’t want to do that, didn’t want to lie…” she sobbed.
“Then why did you do it?”
“I just… I don't know… At first it was because we had agreed not to mention Clement to anyone and I didn’t want them to find out I’d sent the Message. But then… I had so many opportunities to tell them and I didn’t, and the more I kept it to myself, the harder it was to actually say it. I thought they were going to be mad if they found out.”
“Well, they are mad now.”
Mary shrunk into her shoulders. Gillean looked at her with his head slightly cocked.
"Do you remember what it felt like when Aurum left you in Frinkeltong?" he asked.
"Bad," Mary mouthed. "Lonely." She sighed and covered her face. "I know I messed up. I know. Tesaya called me out. She said I didn’t trust them.”
"Well, do you?”
“I…” Mary hesitated. “Its not that I don’t trust them. Really, I do. When I got to adventuring, at first I used to count only on myself, tried to do everything on my own. It-it’s not like that anymore. I’ve learned to d-depend on Bruno and Aurum. I know that if I’m in trouble they’d be there to help me.”
“So, you trust that if you were to get hurt--or die--your friends will do whatever they can to save you?”
Mary nodded.
“Isn’t it bizarre that you trust them with your life but not with your information?” Gillean said and leaned forward. “Mary, which is more important?”
Mary fell quiet. She hadn’t thought about it like that.
“There’s something else,” she said, avoiding Gillean’s eyes. “My father used to live in Myth Adofhaer and I didn’t tell them about that either.”
“Why?”
“I was… I was afraid. What if he was a bad guy?
Gillean didn’t say anything but Mary felt his confusion.
“I mean…” she said. “You know Dorina Dwendel. I had heard so many things about her. Good things. Things like how brave and merciful she was, what a great person she used to be… I thought she was someone to look up to. But she turned out… she turned out to be responsible for the abductions. She attacked us! She almost killed Aurum!” Mary paused, hoping that Gillean would see the connection. “What if my father… what if Halas was a bad person, too? All I know about him is that he was running from something… or someone. What if he’d done something awful and that’s why he was escaping?”
Gillean put up a hand, interrupting her ramblings.
“All I know about Halas,” he said, “is that he used his last strength to save his daughter. That has to count for something.”
“It does!” Mary said quickly. “It does...”
She didn’t want to deny that her father had cared about her. But caring about one’s family didn’t necessarily mean caring about everyone else, right?
“And if he turns out to be what you fear,” Gillean continued, “you think your friends will… what? Think you're like that, too? Abandon you?”
“No, they…”
Mary didnt know what to say. She opened her mouth and closed it, unsure of what she was feeling. So, instead of sinking deeper into that topic, she changed it.
“Where did you find him? You know, when he…”
“Do you have your map?”
Mary took out the long box from her coat and opened Dorina’s map between her Patron and herself.
“It was… here.” Gillean pointed right between Myth Adofhaer and Meraket. “Your parents’ troup had just ended their performances in Meraket at that time, so it was easy to find them and leave you there.”
“I see,” Mary said.
So, Halas had been running in that direction. Everybody who ran from Myth Adofhaer went towards Meraket! Moira and Dalia, Maquiel’s family, all the half-elves rejected by their elven parents…
“Mary…” Gillean broke her thoughts and she looked at him. “Friends are important. Your father died alone, with nobody there to support him. We don't know why that was, but think what it would have been if he had a person like Bruno by his side.”
He would probably be alive right now, Mary thought. Her friends would have healed him even if he was a bad person.
“Your friends have the potential of being your third family,” Gillean said, “if you confide in them.”
Mary smiled sheepishly.
“Bruno already behaves like a mom,” she said.
“He does, doesn’t he?” Gillean laughed jovially. “Well, there has to be someone responsible, with you and the bard running around.”
“Fair.”
“But think about it, all right? I don't want you to be alone.”
“All right.”
Mary sat in her armchair, hands on her lap, thinking about her friends and her father. Gillean sipped his tea and watched her attentively.
“What do you think of that Tesaya woman, though?” he said.
Mary took a second to answer.
“She’s very perceptive. I have the feeling that she knows more than she lets on.”
“Yes, me too. Keep an eye on her.”
Mary nodded. Her thoughts went back to the fight they’d shared with their hostess.
“Gillean, what about Dorina?” she asked. “Were you able to discover anything about her?”
“No. I wasnt able to even see her before your fight. Then, after I knew her face, I was able to look for her, but she was… undiscovarable. Hidden with a spell.”
“Oh.”
“Honestly, it’s not a very complicated spell. Any half-baked spellcaster could do it. You and your friends could, for example, even with your current abilities.” Gillean stopped and looked at her with a self-conscious smile. “I’m not saying you’re not a powerful spellcaster. Because you are.”
“Only because I have a great Patron,” Mary said under her breath.
Gillean beamed.
Not much to say about this part. We love Gillean, he’s the greatest, we want to see him more often, too bad that he’s living in another dimension.
Next time we’ll learn a bit more about that place, but until then,
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.