"So, how did it go?"

Asher blinked, spotting Samantha sitting in the corner of their room, her fingers busy working on what looked like a new blanket if his meager crochet skills were anything to go off of. He barely even remembered Gran dismissing him after laying what felt like the weight of the entire world on his shoulders, but he must have Recalled back to Samantha if he was here.

"I… I'm not sure," he admitted, noting Samantha's concerned look. "I'm fine, I can say that. No injuries or anything to speak of. But… Uh… I can't shake the feeling that I just discovered both that this world is far more vast than I could have possibly imagined, and that it's somehow my job to save all of it."

"Come here," Samantha said, putting her half-formed blanket to the side and motioning for him to sit on the bed beside her. Wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace, she began running her fingers gently through his hair as she pulled his head against her chest. "Tell me what happened."

As always, Asher didn't leave a single detail out of his retelling. A quick Spatial Lock was all the reassurance he needed that nobody else would hear what he had to say, and Samantha acted as the perfect listener as he talked, continuing to run her fingers slowly through his head or gently making circles on his back when he got to the parts that stressed him out.

"So yeah, not only am I not preventing Leighann from coming back, I'm also apparently this 'supreme being's' ideal solution to all the world's problems!" he scoffed, as though the thought were ridiculous. "I'm currently on the run from one of the fourteen liches making up The Council of Death. I love the idea of fighting powerful monsters, but I am not 'save the world' material!"

"I see how that would be stressful," Samantha nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with him, simply lending her ear. "Did she say anything else after that?"

"She told me she was tired from all the travel and asked me to see myself out the same way I'd seen myself in," he muttered, pulling himself further into Samantha's embrace. "I thought about arguing, but I was just… just so exhausted from revelation after revelation. She didn't lay so much as a hand on me, but she might as well have been slapping me in the face with every other sentence."

"It is pretty crazy to learn there are forces in the world that make that evil wizard look like a joke," Samantha muttered, her fingers pausing for the briefest of moments before going back to running through his hair. "I've heard plenty of rumors of creatures the size of mountains far across the seas, or beings that wield unimaginable power, capable of stopping entire armies on their own. But I figured they were all just old wives tales used to get us to fall in line when we were kids. Still, I wouldn't worry about that too much right now. To me, that's like worrying about an earthquake, or a bad storm. There's not a lot you can do about them, you just have to hope they don't hit, and if they do, you do your best to survive."

"That's… actually a pretty good way of looking at it," Asher said, slowly nodding as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "At the very least, I'm probably one of the hardest people to pin down in the entire world with Recall. And with my evolved Personal Rift, I can bring you guys with me if we ever need to run."

"There, see? Nothing to worry about," Samantha grinned, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Let's keep our worries isolated to our own tiny sliver of the world right now. Don't forget we have The Council of Death to deal with."

"And the Head," Asher nodded, strangely feeling glad all of a sudden that those two threats were all they had to worry about. From the way Gran spoke, of unkillable forces that threatened entire countries, his current problems didn't seem quite so bad in comparison.

Huh… I wonder if that was her intention.

Having finally calmed down a bit, he looked around the room and noticed a distinct lack of reckless energy. "Where's Brian?"

"Where do you think?" Samantha asked, unable to contain her giggle. "Would you believe we ended up running into Laura and her folks while exploring the third level? Brian is having a sleepover at their place."

"No way," Asher gasped, the weight of the world falling off his shoulders at the sheer shock of Brian actually wanting to spend time with 'that crossbow fanatic' for a change. "What happened?"

"Remember how I shot an arrow straight through the head of the bandit holding Laura hostage?" Samantha reminded him, looking none-to smug about her impressive aim. "It turns out, she's now a bit more impressed by bows than she used to be. She actually asked Brian if he'd be willing to show her the basics."

"No kidding. What did he say?" Maybe he offered to learn how to use a crossbow in exchange. That would probably make them best friends for life.

"What do you think?" Samantha snorted. "He said he was glad she'd finally realized her choice of weapon sucked and wanted to learn something useful."

"I bet that went over well," Asher laughed, and Samantha laughed right alongside him.

"There was a bit of a fight, but in the end, they still decided to hang out," she smiled. "I'm just glad to see Brian getting along with kids his own age again. After what happened with Logan…"

It was Asher's turn to hold Samantha as she went silent, her mind no doubt swept up once again in a storm of memories around Horntho village before it had been overrun by demons and burned to the ground. "We're going to get The Council of Death for what they did, aren't we?" she asked, surprising him with the sudden steel in her voice. "They can't get away with what they've done. Not just to our village, but to all the others they attacked as well."

"I'm going to take them out, one by one," he nodded, squeezing her tight as if trying to make his promise stick. "You can count on me."

"We're going to take them out," Samantha corrected him, turning to look at him. "No offense, Asher, but Horntho village was my home long before it became yours. Knowing how powerful a foe the undead wizard was, I was willing to put aside the kidnapping, only because we got out safely and it led to me meeting you. But destroying my village and killing practically everyone I've ever known? I can't just sit back and let you deal with this."

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"The Council of Death is a serious-"

"I'm more than capable of holding my own," Samantha frowned, straightening up and staring him down. "You've seen firsthand I can fight. I've killed imps and demons alike, and I don't plan on stopping until there are no more of them capable of being brought into this world."

"I just-"

"I can't even close my eyes at night without imagining George and Martha burning alive, or Logan getting torn to pieces by the demons summoned at that lich's hands," Samantha continued, shaking at the very thought. "I love you so much, Asher, but I won't let you try and leave me behind where it's safe this time. I'm going to fight with you, whether you-"

"Samantha!" Asher said, perhaps a tad too loudly, startling her by grabbing her shoulders and giving her a gentle shake. "I'm not arguing with you! I want your help!"

Samantha froze mid argument, her eyes wide as his words finally registered. "…Huh?"

"Come here," he said, unable to stop himself from laughing at her confused expression as he pulled her into another hug. "What I was trying to say was that if one thing has been made clear to me after everything we've been through, it's that I much prefer fighting with you at my side than on my own. Obviously, sometimes I'll have to take battles solo, but whenever possible, I'd love to have you fighting beside me. And as you've so loudly pointed out, I have in fact not forgotten just how deadly a shot you are with your bow."

"Well… good," she finished lamely, getting another laugh out of him. She tried to look annoyed, but wasn't able to keep up the façade as she finally broke and started laughing as well. Catching her breath, she gave him a sheepish smile. "Sorry… I really expected you to give me the whole 'it's too dangerous' spiel, or something."

"I mean, it is insanely dangerous, what we're going to be doing. But if anything, that's all the more reason why I'd feel better having you watch my back than going it alone. Though I hope you realize this means you might be spending a bit more time in my Personal Rift than you'd like."

"Damn it, I hadn't thought of that," she sighed, looking dejected. "Never mind then. I guess you're on your own."

Samantha squealed as Asher tackled her and began tickling her in earnest in response to him being thrown to the wolves. He'd learned by now that the hunter had particularly sensitive sides, and he took full advantage of that as she writhed under him in a futile attempt at escaping.

"I give, I give!" she laughed, gasping for air as he finally let up on his assault. "That's a low blow, going for my sides!"

"All's fair in love and war," he grinned, the sight of Samantha splayed out across the bed with her brown hair framing her face doing things to him. The fact that Brian was away for the night with Laura and her parents crossed his mind, and he almost went straight for Samantha's other weak points he'd learned about during their time together. But the thought of Brian made him stop short.

Samantha, who had clearly been waiting for him to join her on the bed by the looks of things must have seen something on his face, as she pushed herself up on her elbows and gave him a concerned look. "What's wrong?"

"What about Brian?" he asked, trying and failing to imagine how they'd manage to both hunt down and deal with the massive threats targeting them, all while keeping the twelve-year-old safe. "We can't very well bring him with us on our two-man crusade against the evil of this world."

"I've actually been thinking about that ever since the attack on Horntho village," Samantha admitted quietly, adjusting her position so she was sitting beside him again. "I didn't want to say anything yet until I spoke with Brian about it, but when I thought I might have lost him with all the fire and screaming…" she shuddered at the memory, and Asher squeezed her hand reassuringly. "…You remember Elaina, the merchant who I introduced you to back in Trellis' caravan?"

"How could I forget?" Asher chuckled, easily recalling the large woman he'd sold his heavy boar tusks to. "I still owe her one for giving me back one of the tusks. Saved my life on two occasions. Hell, I still have that tusk rattling around in my Personal Rift. What about her?"

"One of the last times we spoke, the two of us got to talking about Brian. When I mentioned how impressive his archery was becoming, she floated an idea that, at the time, I shot down immediately."

"What did she say?"

"There's an academy," Samantha admitted, pausing as if unsure if she really wanted to continue. "Any child displaying remarkable skill in any weapon is welcome to try out. If they're accepted, the academy takes care of everything. Food, lodging, they even pay out a surprising stipend of shards each year to the families of those attending."

"That sounds too good to be true," Asher said, already seeing where she was going with this. "Why would they do this?"

"It's an academy for royal guards," Samantha finally said, her lips pressed into a thin line. "They take children as young as twelve in order to ensure that they'll earn a powerful origin element and are trained in both etiquette and skills they'll need to protect the High Prince. The royal guards are some of the most elite warriors in the entire kingdom, capable of fighting just about anything."

"You don't seem too on board with the idea," Asher pointed out.

"At first I wasn't," she admitted. "I don't have a doubt in my mind that Brian is talented enough with the bow to get accepted into the academy, but originally, I'd wanted Brian to earn a Forest element like me and our parents. Since then… I've come to realize I'd mistaken his love of archery for that of the forest. It wasn't the trees and nature he was enjoying, but the thrill of hunting with his bow. I didn't want to uproot his entire life, either, but that choice was taken from us by The Council of Death. Now that our home is gone…"

"…Maybe he'd do better with the structure of the royal guard academy rather than the randomness of bouncing from tavern to tavern," Asher finished for her. "Where he can continue to hone his love of archery and prepare for his future."

"Yeah," Samantha sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "It's just a lot… I've all but raised him since he was four. I want what's best for him, of course, but to think of him not being with me anymore…"

"I'm not sure how visits are handled within the royal guard academy, but don't forget, you'll only ever be a single Recall away," he said, kissing the top of her head. "With all the horrors you and I are preparing to face, I can't imagine any safer place for Brian to be than amidst the royal guards."

"Yeah," she nodded, seeming a bit more excited about the idea after Asher reminded him about his Recall. "You're right. Either way, I'm not going to force him to do it. If he's not interested, we'll have to come up with something else."

"Becoming a royal guard and getting to practice with his bow all day, every day?" Asher snorted, remembering all the times Brian had scarfed down his food so he could rush out to practice at their homemade archery range. "Yeah, I think he'll be interested."

"Hush, you," Samantha giggled, throwing a leg over him and knocking him onto his back before he realized what was happening. "Regardless, that's not something we need to worry about tonight. I have other things that require your assistance taking care of."

"Oh? Dare I ask what 'things' these might be?" he asked, grinning at her annoyed eye roll.

He had a few other quips he wanted to tease her with, but Samantha's lips found his own before he got the chance. As the two of them began peeling off the other's clothes and embraced, quickly losing themselves in the heat of passion, he decided he much preferred her plans over his own. There'd be time for worrying about the fate of the world later.

For now, he had more important things to focus on.

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