Embers in the Dust

Rhokhishi sat up and stared at the empty side of the bed. It had become normal for her and Lyla to sleep in, then spend the afternoon and evenings together. As Leaf’s Mastery Testing came closer, that became less and less. Waking up before her, Lyla had been working at The Duodenary, helping with the various day-to-day tasks that they required to run, and Rhokhishi was left to her own devices. On those days, Rhokhishi spent her time alone meditating and trying to glean what her new patron, Ananke, wanted from her. It often led to her growing frustrated, as her only plans were to reach the River Styx and find Zariel.

In the evenings, she made her way to the dining hall of Lyrical Lute, where she sat and waited for the rest to return. Drinking, eating, and enjoying the comforts afforded to them as patrons of the inn. Rhokhishi knew that this was an important step toward their goals as a group, but she was finding it difficult to stay in the city, where she could only twiddle her thumbs while others found their passions, goals, and purpose. She wanted to be happy for them, but the clawing in her chest only hardened her feelings.

Staring up at the clock on the wall, she saw the time and date under it; The fourth of Frosthold, five in the morning. They came to Berkton on the twelfth of Redfall, thirty-three days ago. While they had been involved in a series of events that were unplanned, Rhokhishi grew tired of waiting. Her purpose since leaving Luffari was closely within her grasp, and with needing to wait for Gisela to return, then travel through the River Styx, it would be another few weeks before she would even come close to finding Zariel’s mystical weapon.

Lyla entered the Lyrical Lute, saw Rhokhishi and smiled. Sitting next to her, Lyla rested her head on Rhokhishi’s shoulder, clearly exhausted from another long night in which she had been at either The Duodenary or The Nightingale. Grabbing a piece of bacon off her plate, she waited for Lyla to speak.

“Anyone up yet?”

“Just us. They should be up soon.”

“Leaf has his first test today.”

“He does.”

Lyla leaned back in her chair and looked at Rhokhishi’s face, trying to understand her shortness.

“You okay?”

“I don’t know… I guess I’m just ready for the next step.”

“With?”

“River Styx.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not that I don’t enjoy being here, but we have things to do, and I’m not patient.”

“We’re almost there, Kiki.”

Rhokhishi sat forward in her chair, leaning her arms on the table and staring at the wall in silence. She wasn’t angry, but the frustration of being impatient grew inside her.

“And us?” Lyla asked.

“What about us?”

“What are we doing?”

“We’re having breakfast.”

“I… I guess I’ve been wanting to talk about this. I enjoy what we have, Kiki, but I’m starting to feel like our focuses are getting mixed.”

Rhokhishi stood, taking a few steps away from Lyla, then placed her hands on one of the other chairs, looking into her eyes.

“My only goal is destroying Zarin and everything he’s built.”

“That’s what I mean… You brought me into something, which I assumed was going to just be one night of fun, and turned it into something more serious. Now that things are happening, you seem to be less and less focused on us, and the group, and more centered on finding a way to stop Zarin.”

“That’s always been my goal, Lyla.”

“I get that,” Lyla sighed as she spoke. “I just feel like we are getting in the way of our own goals.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean that you’ve been getting frustrated whenever I leave in the morning. I see you sitting around every evening, waiting on us to all show up. You’ve grown distant, coming to bed late.”

Rhokhishi felt her anger rise, wanting to explode her feelings outward. She was unsure what she wanted, but it was clear to Lyla that this wasn’t it. Rhokhishi gripped the chair harder, trying to calm her emotions.

“What do you suggest then? That we end it?”

“No, I just think we just need to take a step back. Focus on just the now, and not whatever this has become.”

“I-”

Rhokhishi stopped as she heard others walking down the stairs. Entering the dining hall, Leaf, Mr. Muffins, and Myla walked into the room. While Myla looked awake and alert, Mr. Muffins went straight over to the coffee with a large mug and Leaf seemed to have barely slept.

“Morning!” Myla said, interrupting the silence and tension in the room.

“Hey.” Lyla responded, her voice sounding normal, and not the strained voice Rhokhishi had heard only seconds before.

They all sat around the table as Sarnorin, Scoria, and Primhorn came out of the kitchen with a variety of food. Starting with only a few platters of eggs, fruit, and bread, they came back with more and more food, until the table was becoming overwhelmed with everything it held.

“Thought y’all deserved somethings special, it bein’ a big day and all.” Primhorn said, smiling from ear to ear.

“This is very thoughtful. Thank you!” Leaf responded, his eyes growing large at the feast before them.

“It was all we could do for y’all. The academy has paid ahead of time on everything, and it would be robbery if we didn’t use it on ya. Especially since y’all helped us get the place back up and running after that damn Ravenglade attack.”

“It’s very kind of you to do this for us.” Myla added, grabbing a plate for herself.

“Don’t think we’re gonna be able to eat this though, without a few more mouths. You should sit and eat too.” Mr. Muffins stated, gesturing to the other chairs at the table.

“That would be nice. Is that okay, boss?” Scoria asked Primhorn.

“Of course! Let’s enjoy this morning, the last morning before Master Leaf becomes the Archmage!” He answered, holding a cup of coffee in front of him as if toasting Leaf.

“Here here!” Rhokhishi said as she lifted her cup as well, trying to shake off the negative emotions from her earlier talk.

Through the morning, Rhokhishi sat with Lyla, ate breakfast, and readied themselves for the next few days. She knew they would be busy for days, but wasn’t sure as to what they would be doing. While Myla asked about their plans, Leaf pulled a scroll out and started reading from it between bites of food.

“It says here that it’s a three-day test.” Leaf stated.

“Three days?” Lyla asked.

“Yeah. We’re to meet at the Whalehunter’s Dock at noon.”

“Who are we meeting there?” Myla questioned.

“Umm… It says Cerrin.”

“What!?” Mr. Muffins stated, eggs dropping out of his mouth.

“Do we need to worry about that?”

“I don’t think so, Myla. I don’t think he would cause a scene in front of others.”

“We need to keep our guard up.” Rhokhishi added.

Leaf nodded, took a bite of bread, then continued.

“It seems like we’ll be busy most of the time. They’ll be my tests, but I was allowed to bring anyone along, so accommodations were made for all of us. Each day will be one test.”

“How long are these tests?” Myla asked.

“Do we need to bring food?” Lyla added in.

“I don’t think so. It doesn’t say.” Leaf responded.

“You can always take some of these leftovers.” Sarnorin stated, gesturing to the food still piled in front of them.

“Well, we should probably get going soon. Pack a few day’s worth of stuff, then head over there.”

“Sarnorin and I will grab some to-go bags.” Scoria said as she rose from her chair and started her way to the kitchen with Sarnornin.

Rhokhishi wasn’t sure what she needed. She had her clothes, and the mimic had been wrapped around her arm in its bracer form, except when eating. She decided to grab a few of her weapons, just in case, and a spare set of clothes. When ready, she met everyone downstairs at the entrance, and they waved to their new friends before leaving.

It was cold, but they all seemed to have grown comfortable in the weather. Passing through the Berkton Academy, with its temperature-controlled bubble, they walked quickly to the Whalehunter’s Ward District, where the cold returned. Above, gray clouds threatened snowfall.

At Whalehunter’s Dock, Rhokhishi was amazed by the variety of boats, from smaller fishing boats to knarrs the size of mansions and more. To the right, she took a glance at some of the boats docked, with people of all races moving on and off the vessel, carrying goods. To the left, the dock rose up a long platform until becoming a plateau. There, Rhokhishi was able to see the bottom of the boats, with large stone slabs making up their bottom, glowing a light green energy as they floated in the air by magic.

Rhokhishi knew little about the magic needed for flying boats, but she knew that they were typically larger than most, and would travel across Midgard to the various continents, bringing trade and travelers from other places in the world. If circumstances were different, she might have spent the whole day here, trying to learn the names of them, their crew, and maybe even figure out how the slabs of rock cause the boat to soar through the clouds.

Instead, they walked over to an exterior staircase, which led to a small office. The door was open, so they stepped inside. The interior of the room was solid wood on a slab of stone. Against the center wall across from the door was a rounded stairwell, where Rhokhishi assumed other items were kept. In the center were two desks, facing the front, where two dwarves sat. They were both brown-haired, one with a large beard and the other clean-shaven. As they entered, the one with a beard was working on a pile of paperwork, while the other was creating a miniature model ship, where the box held the various items needed to create it. The clean-shaven one looked up, smiling wide and setting a pair of tweezers down in front of the ship.

“Hello!”

“Good day. We’re a little early, but we were supposed to meet Dean Cerrin here.” Leaf asked as he stepped forward from the group.

“Cerrin? I didn’t think Cerrin was supposed to stop by, was he, Magmur?” He asked the other dwarf.

Rather than replying, Magmur took a small envelope and tossed it to the other. It spun in the air, nearly hitting the boat, but the clean-shaven dwarf grabbed the envelope and opened it. After a moment of reading, he spoke again.

“Seems like the Dean is going to be late. You can wait here, if you want.”

“Or outside.” Magmur added with a gruff voice.

“No need.” A voice came from behind them.

Rhokhishi turned to see a tall, slender, tiefling woman standing at the door, wearing comfortable and clean leathers and a blue cloak. She was redder skinned than a human, as if flushed from what she saw. Her horns curved back slightly, roughly six inches in length, and were adorned with blue caps at the end, made of blue gems. She smiled at Leaf, then to the others.

“Excuse my lateness, as I wasn’t supposed to be the one to retrieve you.”

“You’re actually early, Dean Dalia.” Leaf replied.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Let’s get going. Magmur, Hargrim? Thank you for keeping an eye on them while I arrived.”

“Always happy to help, Dean Dalia!” the clean-shaven one, named Hargrim, exclaimed back.

Rhokhishi let the others leave first, then followed them out to the dock.