The men awoke the next morning with fragments of memory of their night before. Roden was quick to deduce they must have consumed a prodigious amount of alcohol to induce such a state in all three of them.

Unlike their lavish suit in the Golden Dew or the beautiful ocean view villa of the Silver Wind Inn, the Outpost was more form and function than luxury. Nonetheless Roden poured himself into the small shower and started his meditation.

His daily meditation was usually quite simple and didn't require him to enter his soulspace.

'Or was it my Sparkspace?' he thought to himself as the hot water rushed over him.

He banished the thought as he felt himself fall into that space. He made the trip that morning to pick up a spell he long had needed to grab for just such an occasion.

He quickly found the spell he was looking for and absorbed the wisp, while relinquishing his grip on Sight of the Magi. The spell was pulled toward his Elven magic and became Cleansing Note. As usual the spell maintained its primary function and gained the option to cast the spell on any creature who could hear his incantation.

Roden nearly wandered straight out of his space but a wisp he had yet to see caught his eye. It looked familiar, yet different. When he brushed up against it, he recognized it to be a more powerful version of his Triage spell.

His mouth twisted up at the information he received. Roden didn't have any more room in his head for another spell. In his gamer soul he knew as the healer of the group he should take that spell. Unfortunately, it was a Mage tier spell as well. He'd just received two spells of the same tier from his domains and even at his level of Advancement could only squeeze out one or two of those spells without setting his meridians on fire.

He'd cast his spells enough to know that pushing that much magic through his magi-meridians more than a couple times a day would be detrimental to his health. Even when he'd exhausted his magic for the day he could feel his meridians ache at the exertion.

Roden shook his head, "I am such a bad Cleric." he said to himself as he closed his eyes to leave.

Once back in the shower, Roden hummed a little tune about believing he could fly to himself and immediately felt a warmth that washed away his hungover haze. With a clearer mind Roden made a connection between the tune and the sensation and he frowned at the irony of his choice. Problematic song choice aside he finished up his shower and made his way to meet up with Errrkkkk and Riakon.

He found the two men already sitting in the main room of the Outpost ordering breakfast.

"Well don't you two look awfully chipper." he said it more as an accusation than a general statement.

A wide grin spread on Riakon's face, "yeah I got my Faith healing back so I cured us."

"Nice!" Roden said, sitting down at the table. "I really didn't want to have to burn up a bunch of magic on hangover cures."

Errrkkkk clicked his tongue, "oh now he takes the hangover cure spell, cacaw."

Roden shrugged, "at this point I assumed we were immune to a casual hangover."

A waitress stopped by their table delivering cups of hot coffee, what passed for bacon, and warm biscuits.

"I'll be back with your eggs in a second, Loves." the waitress added as she moved off.

Roden breathed in the steam coming off his cup of coffee before taking a sip of the hot comforting liquid. His moment of morning bliss was interrupted by the sound of Riakon crunching the crispy meat and the gnashing of teeth.

"So what's our plan?" Riakon said through a mouth semi-full of food.

"Breakfast and then contact Yan…" as he said it a memory bubbled to the surface from the night before.

"Oh no…" he said with an embarrassed chuckle.

Riakon furrowed his brow, "what?"

"You don't remember, do you?" Roden said.

Riakon scratched the back of his head, "ummmm no, I don't recall everything." he said sheepishly. "After Errrkkkk squawked out that song about a free bird, I don't remember much of anything."

Errrkkkk glared at him briefly before his expression changed to one of delight as a different waitress dropped off a plate of various sliced fruits that Roden did not recognize. Errrkkkk tore into his organic breakfast without so much as a word toward his companions.

"Well I have a fuzzy recollection of us sending Yan messages while we were outside." Roden said.

The first waitress dropped off a plate heaped with steaming fluffy scrambled eggs, which Riakon immediately started shoveling onto his plate.

"Well what did he say back?" Riakon said with his fork poised before his mouth.

Roden shook his head, "I have no idea."

Riakon laughed with his mouth full of his breakfast, "I guess you better call him then."

Roden groaned.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Errrkkkk held up a talon, "no need, I already did, cacaw."

Roden perked up at the prospect of not having to apologize. Riakon stared at the Birdfolk.

"What do you mean you already did?" he said, surprise clear in his tone.

Errrkkkk got a smug look on his face, "it was nothing, I just sent him a message on the wind. He said our transport is all taken care of, cacaw."

"Is that all he said?" Roden said, hoping it was.

Errrkkkk shook his head, "no, he told me to remind you to not practice magic of any kind while under the influence, cacaw."

Roden hung his head, "duly noted."

When their breakfast was eaten and Riakon had licked the plates clean, the men made their way through the Outpost to where the Circle Array was situated. A brief conversation with the operator and a quick verification with their superior was all that was necessary before the men were transported to the sister Array in Port Sept.

The three wasted no time returning to their villa, Roden could tell both Errrkkkk and Riakon were excited to see their little guys, Grok and Branch. The same was true for the other side of the equation as Grok nearly destroyed the front door as he tackled Riakon.

Branch's response was more muted, but the chirps and tweets that came from what served as his mouth could only be described as enthusiastic, even if they were ear splitting at times.

Roden looked around the villa for Miriana while the others were getting reacquainted, but did not find her. When he returned to the sitting room he found the rest of the group sitting in the living room in hurried discussion.

Both Grok and Branch appeared to be telling their respective people something, but Roden lacked the familiarity with Grok to understand him to the degree Riakon did, and Branch was literally speaking another language so he had no hope there.

Instead, he rummaged through the kitchen for a snack when he noticed the pantry and ice box were noticeably bare. Roden didn't have a perfect recollection of his childhood, but he distinctly remembered his mother always maintained an abundant supply of food.

While puzzled over the lack of food, Roden noticed Grok's frantic gestures and the stern looks on Riakon and Errrkkkk's faces. Then his memory served up what Zamira had said in their late night communing during his Advancement.

"Awe shit." Roden said, a wide grin spreading on his face.

Everyone turned to look at him. The four pairs of eyes were a bit intense for his liking so he quickly added.

"I think these two must have gotten into the pantry while we were gone."

Riakon and Errrkkkk both slowly turned to face their charges. Grok shrunk, his shoulders rounded, and he looked up with pitiful eyes, it was quite the performance. Branch for his part wilted slightly as Errrkkkk squawked and presumably chastised the plant for getting into trouble.

It was then Roden noticed just how much the two little guys had grown. In the few days they were gone Grok had grown another inch or so and had probably gained ten pounds of muscle. Branch on the other hand was no longer bound in his pot. He had two limbs that stuck out from his torso that allowed him to walk and crouch as he had been.

Roden couldn't remember Miriana getting overly stern with him as a child, but there was no doubt in his mind that the Goddess of Death and Storms wouldn't lack the ability to drop the proverbial hammer down on misbehaving children.

Having finally made it back to what had become their home away from home, they took the opportunity to lounge about and finally relax a bit before Miriana's return. Errrkkkk took Branch out for a quick flight while Riakon and Grok took to doing a little fishing off the dock.

Without a little buddy of his own, and no desire to have one, Roden kicked back in the sitting room of the villa. It didn't take long before he felt the urge to nap come over him, he didn't fight the feeling and closed his eyes letting the coziness of the plush couch cradle him as he drifted off.

Roden was roused from his afternoon nap by the sound of the villa door followed by a shout that made him jump.

"Grokwell! Branchington! Where are you two?!" Miriana said, her unmistakable voice cut through the quiet like a knife.

Her declaration had the desired effect as Roden could hear the clamor of what he assumed to be Grok rushing up the stairs. Roden rose up and peered over the top of the couch just in time to see Grok sitting before Miriana at the top of the stairs.

Miriana stood her hands on her hips towering over the garg with her stance and presence.

"And just what do you think you were doing downstairs mister?" Miriana said, addressing the submissive Grok.

Grok frantically started gesticulating down the stairs until his eyes caught Roden spying from just behind the couch. Grok pointed toward him as if he was trying to alert Miriana of a fire. Her eyes narrowed, but she followed his direction until her eyes landed on Roden.

"Hey mom, we're back." he said with a clipped wave.

Relief flooded Miriana's expression, "oh thank goodness. Sorry about that Grok, I assume you were with the others down there."

Grok nodded vigorously, She reached out and gave the garg a pat on the head.

"Okay okay go get the others, and have everyone wash up for dinner. We simply must go out to celebrate."

Before leaving for dinner Errrkkkk and Riakon made sure Grok and Branch were prepared for their evening alone. They even ordered a generous meal of various meats and fruits from the Silver Wind Inn to keep them tied over until they could return.

Grok's need and love of juicy meat was often his downfall when left to his own devices. While Branch was a different sort. He didn't actually require food as Grok did, but he did enjoy the flavor of various things, particularly the pollen that often came with fresh fruit. As such honey was a favorite of the little treant.

That night Miriana took the men to a place known as The Lucky Kettle. Despite its rather unimpressive name it was the best restaurant in all of Port Sept, and arguably the continent of Mir. Miriana guided them down Temple Street to what served as the temple to the twin goddesses of Fala and Eetili.

From the outside the massive building looked like a rather ritzy Inn attempting a rustic theme. It reminded Roden of the waterpark hotels from back home. Once inside it was clear a significant amount of planning and coin had gone into the building as it was divided into multiple sections.

Once in the lobby a patron could continue straight into the temple of the two goddesses. If piety was not their mission then a visitor had two choices: they could turn to their right and enter the main tavern floor where they would find various tables with any number of games for them to test their luck and potentially win some coin, or they could turn to their left and head into the Lucky Kettle a restaurant blessed by the Goddess of Hospitality herself.

The Lucky Kettle was every bit of a five star restaurant with the décor of a home kitchen. A diner was just as likely to see someone eating a tomahawk steak with mashed potatoes and gravy as they were to see someone having a pan seared line caught white fish enrobed in a beurre blanc sauce infused with fresh vanilla paired with candied seasonal petals.

The atmosphere of the Lucky Kettle was raucous, yet cozy. One of the many hosts showed the group to a table off in the corner. When they tried to hand out menus Miriana interrupted,

"Sorry we are celebrating this evening so we will have Fala's Feast for four, with the drink pairings as well. Please accommodate for one non-avian eater and…" she looked around the table at her guests, "we will definitely need plenty of napkins."

The server gave her a slight bow of their head and responded with the deference reserved for those who garner the highest respect, "right away, priestess."

Miriana rolled her eyes out of the server's view, "please, while I am here with my family, dispense with the formalities."

The server, a young looking eleven man with long nearly white blonde hair, stood up straighter and smiled warmly, "as you wish ma'am. I will be back shortly with your appetizers and drinks."

Miriana returned a smile, "thank you."

Once the server had left she turned her attention back to her guests, "okay boys, now c'mon regale me with your tale of adventure."

The three men looked amongst themselves before Roden was silently and unanimously nominated to tell their story as usual. Roden spun a story of their rapid ascent of the mountain and their worrisome hike through the dragon's icy lair.

He cultivated suspense in his audience as he told of the pile of snow and their assault on the sleeping dragon, which caused Miriana to give a sour expression.

"What?" Roden asked, confused.

Miriana returned a look of uncertainty, "it's just… isn't it a little cliche to attack a sleeping dragon?"

Riakon chimed in, "it's effective."

"And, you can't argue with the results, cacaw." Errrkkkk added.

Miriana gave them a small laugh and a shake of her head, "okay okay fair enough, continue."

Roden picked up their story, at the moment he engaged the dragon with Riakon's help. He told of how they overwhelmed the sleepy lizard and kept it off balance. He was careful to downplay the danger he was in when he took the dragon's cold breath on his shield.

He enthusiastically detailed how Riakon baited the dragon down the tunnel straight into Errrkkkk's combination Soul Sphere Chi Beam that forced the dragon to break the wall and attempt to flee. Miriana was a perfect audience as always. She even gasped when Roden revealed the dragon had escaped the brunt of their trap.

Just as he was building up to the part where he threw Riakon at the dragon with his Herald's Strength. Everyone's attention was drawn to the cluster of servers who approached their table carrying various platters of small foods, glasses and pitchers of unidentifiable liquids.

A server walked around their table setting down a platter in front of each of them, while another dropped off a glass of ice water. Their table was quickly covered by numerous dishes of delicious looking foods. Once the bustle settled the elven server from before stood before their table and addressed them.

"Here is the first course of Fala's Feast. Let us begin."

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