Chapter Five-Hundred Four (Patreon)

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Pul

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After getting the final key, of course there’s a massive celebration!  Pul doesn’t have time to do any delving because everyone’s preparing, and he’s pretty sure Rhonda is busy with it, too.  The guilds are going to celebrate with a big party at the Hold, similar to the one the Army had that a Harbinger crashed.

While the springs will be open, he’s pretty sure most of the delvers are going to be more interested in eating, drinking, and showing off.  As he understands it, the guilds are providing the drinks, while the delvers have to bring the food.  Not everyone has come to the butchery to get stuff, but a lot have.

A few did some hunting to be processed, but most of them want what they already have, so it seems the question of preserving turkeys or pigs might be moot.  Turkey legs are one of the classic things to eat on the go, while whole boars are a cooking flex that the delvers can’t resist.

He’s planning to cook some turkey skewers, and he smiles at his gremlin walking beside him, who’s been a great help around the butchery.  Her claws are as sharp as any of Dad’s knives, and she seems to actually enjoy deboning things.  Getting to chew on the bones after is probably a good incentive, too.  They try to keep most of them, but she knows how to look cute to persuade his parents.

He snorts, remembering worrying about how they might react to her.  They were a bit worried at first, of course, but when she started helping, they practically acted like taming her was their idea!  Not that she minds helping.  Headpats and a bone to chew keep her a happy little gremlin.

He still needs to figure out a name, though.

That can come later.  He spots Freddie and Rhonda walking on the path to the Hold, so he jogs to catch up.  He spots Fiona tap Freddie on the back of the head and point back at him, and the young paladin smiles wide as Pul closes the distance.

“Hey Pul!  Looking forward to the celebration?”

“I bet your parents are happy about it!” add Rhonda.  “I must have seen a dozen full boar carcasses being hauled up there!  They must have made some good money from that!”

Pul nods.  “Not all of them are from us, but yeah.  Dad was starting to worry about what to do with them, but now he’s worrying about what to do with an empty meat cellar!”

They laugh as Pul settles in to walk beside the other two.  “How’s your gremlin been doing?  Figured out a name for her yet?” asks Rhonda, meeting the gremlin’s eyes as they walk.

“She’s been doing great.  She’s got a ton of energy, no wonder Lucas and Fiona are always getting into mischief!  She’s been helping with butchering.  Her claws are really good for deboning, and she likes to chew on the bones, after.”

Freddie snorts in amusement.  “That sounds both creepy and kinda adorable at the same time.”

The gremlin looks happy at that, and Pul knows she considers both descriptions to be compliments.  “Pretty much, yeah.  I wonder if Rose gets rambunctious, too?”

Freddie shrugs as Rhonda speaks up.  “Apparently, a lot of plant tames are pretty relaxed, but they have their own quirks.  Master Staiven says he knew someone with a plant familiar a while ago.  It always seemed happy to sit in a pot all day, but he also noticed little holes in the soil of every other potted plant they had.  I guess they mark their territory and establish dominance over other plants in their own way?”

“I’ll need to ask him when I see him, then.  Do you guys know if he’s coming?”

Freddie nods.  “He intends to, but I don’t know how official he’ll have to be.  Even if it’s a party, it still has practically every adventurer around, and you can bet the military will want to join in, too.”

Pul nods at that.  Rezlar would probably prefer to just hang out, but he has his job to do.  He’s no politician, but even he can see a meeting of this many powerful people can’t be overlooked to strengthen bonds.  “Hopefully he can come mingle after he gives a speech or something.”

“Do you think he’ll need to?” asks Rhonda, and Freddie nods.

“Yes.  With all the adventurers and the military, as well as the representatives from the Shield, Order, the Raven, and Laermali, he’ll basically have to.  It probably won’t be very long, at least.  The priesthoods might be used to long sermons, but the adventurers won’t be able to sit still for too long.”

“Ah,” acknowledges Rhonda.  “Oh, and can’t forget Thedeim’s people, too.  I bet Teemo will make an appearance, and maybe a few of the scions.  Do you think Poe will show up?”

Pul shrugs.  “Maybe?  He’s going to be on basically everyone’s minds, so it’d make sense for him to at least drop by.”

They chat some more as they walk, until they eventually reach the field, where the festivities are already underway.  It looks like the drinks from the guilds haven’t arrived yet, but there’s plenty of cooking fires already lit, and the smells are very enticing.

Pul looks around, hoping to spot Ragnar or his friends, but doesn’t spot them.  It’s fine, he’ll get his own fire going, and maybe draw them over with the scent of his own cooking.

It doesn’t take long to get a fire going, and the gremlin helps by whittling some tinder to make the job that much easier.  Before long, Pul has a modest fire going, and he settles in to relax and let it burn down a bit so he can cook.

When he turns his attention from the fire, he smiles as he sees Rezlar and Miller approaching, with Rhonda and Freddie both already standing eager to greet their friend.

“I’m glad I was able to find you guys,” Rezlar says before smirking and glancing at Miller.  “Well, that Miller was able to find you.”

“Happy to serve, Young Master.”

The others laugh at the humility of probably one of the strongest people in Fourdock.  Nobody has come out and said it, but everyone saw how he incapacitated the Earl’s maid at the fake funeral.  Even before then, it was a bit of an open secret.

“I’m glad I have enough time to spend some with all of you before I have to give a speech.  Have you named your gremlin yet?” he asks Pul, who can only shake his head.

“Not yet.  Nothing feels right.  I think I’m gonna  need to ask Thedeim,” Pul admits.  “All the dark names feel too dark, normal names don’t fit right.  I tried a few different knife names, but she didn’t like those, either.”

Rezlar nods at that.  “Lord Thedeim is rather good with names, despite how much He insists to the contrary, heh.  And if He can’t think of one, I’m sure Teemo or the other scions could come up with something.  Name aside, are you two connecting well?  We need to be fully prepared for our trial soon.  I can’t imagine Him waiting overlong after Poe’s Raid fight.”

Pul nods and pats the gremlin.  “Yeah, we’re doing well.  She’s been helping out around the butchery.  We haven’t had too much of a chance to practice fighting together, but I’m feeling pretty good about it.  She should be just as nimble as me in a fight, so we’ll be even better prepared for chaotic battles.”

Freddie nods.  “Which he’ll probably throw at us as part of the trial.  I’ve been hearing a lot of the more experienced paladins talk about what it’s like to deal with a murderous dungeon.  Even though they stay out and only attack expeditions on the outside, dungeons often do nasty tricks when all they want is to kill people.  It’ll only get worse inside.”

Everyone nods at that, with Rezlar speaking next.  “I’ve talked to many of the adventurers and Lord Thedeim’s Priesthood who went to fight the Maw, as well.  While it didn’t have much in the way of terrain manipulation, it was still able to plan quite a few ambushes.  It’s only due to the Murphy’s Law miracle that more people didn’t lose their lives.”

“Do you think he’ll cast it again?” asks Rhonda, and Rezlar shakes his head.

“I haven’t heard anything from Him about it, but I’ve overheard some of the Priesthood mention it.  If He poured his divinity into it… there could be significant side effects, and that’s not accounting for the Betrayer very likely having Fate affinity as well.  With how old it is, it may have some method to neutralize or even redirect the effects.”

“I was really hoping I’d get to see it…” mumbles Rhonda, disappointed at missing out on a major magical achievement.

Even Pul nods at that.  It’s weird to think of the Dungeon with the rat for a Voice really having the kind of power to do something like that.  And that was before he apotheosed!  Pul still thinks of him as the smart-aleck, often silly mentor.

“...We need to make sure to take as much time as we can to finish preparing for the trial,” says Freddie, voicing everyone’s thoughts.  “I think we got a glimpse at some of the things he might do to us for it, so we need to make sure we’re ready.  We did well with our group, but we won’t have them for the trail.”

They settle in to prepare and brainstorm, coming up with contingencies and further contingencies if those don’t work either.  Making a magma protection potion will be difficult, but Rhonda is confident she can work it out with Old Staiven by the trial.  An amulet or a ring can be stolen, but having a potion effect as the last line of defense will make it a lot safer if the Betrayer really can steal gear like some of Thediem’s denizens can.

They go over a few tactical ideas, too, before Rezlar has to go give his speech, giving Pul time to cook the skewers.  He’s seen people put potatoes on them, but he’s a fan of onions and peppers instead. They don’t need to be cooked as long as a potato, so he won’t run the risk of burning the meat.

They eat as the speeches are given, and though each one is kept pretty short, there’s quite a few people who have things to say.  There’s Karn and Jondar, of course, and Rezlar, but there’s also the priests from each of the deities, the captain of the army, and even Teemo has something to say.

They don’t demand people stop eating, so it’s easy enough for everyone to listen while they enjoy dinner, then the speech givers mingle after.  Rezlar has to stay and chat with them for now, but Teemo doesn’t seem to have that obligation.  No, he pops out of a shortcut to sit on Pul’s shoulder, his little nose wriggling.

“Oohh, that smells good, Tupul.”

He laughs and offers him a skewer, and doesn’t think too hard about it when it shrinks down to be manageable for the Voice.  Spatial affinity is a weird one.  “How’re you doing, Teemo?”

“Mrfm mrrm…” he pauses to chew and swallow, before trying again.

“Doing well!  Boss is planning all kinds of things, trying to guess what the Betrayer will do, how to counter it, and how to counter whatever he comes up with to counter us.  How about you?  Name the gremlin yet?”

Pul rolls his eyes.  “Everyone wants to know, but no, not yet.  Nothing feels right.”

“You want any suggestions from the Boss?”

“If he doesn’t mind.”

Teemo’s ears twitch as he listens, and he continues to listen for longer than usual.  “...I don’t think Boss is going to be much of a help, unless you think Shadow McShadowface is a good name?”

Pul and the others laugh at the ridiculous suggestion, even as Teemo’s ear twitches again.  “And that was the best one he had.  He says Honey has a good one, though.  She even wrote it down for him to read and tell me.”

Still smiling, Pul nods.  “Sure, why not?  It can’t be any worse than the other one.”

“Silhouette.”

The gremlin perks up at that, which is already a better sign than any of the other names.

“What do you think?” asks Pul, and she taps a claw against her chin as she considers.  After several long seconds, she nods with a toothy smile.  Pul pats her head and smiles as well, though with fewer sharp teeth.

“Silhouette.  I like it, too.”

Teemo smiles around a mouthful of turkey and onion, though he swallows before he speaks up.  “With that settled, Boss has a deadline for your guys’ test: a week after the raid on Poe.  Any later than that, and you won’t have enough time to practice with all the things Boss wants to do.”

Everyone nods at that.  “I already told Rezlar.  So make sure you’re ready for Poe, and that you’re ready for the trial, too.  The attack on the lava fortress was a good example of what to expect, but Boss will have some more surprises for you, too, so don’t go thinking he’s shown you everything yet.”

Teemo smiles at them all.  “Give it your best, kids.  Even if you don’t pass the trial, I’m sure all your mentors are as proud of you as the Boss is.  Good luck.  And thanks for the skewer.  If this is a sign of how you guys have been preparing, I think you have a real shot.”

He salutes with the skewer before slipping through another shortcut, leaving them with a lot to think about.