Rai let his mother continue her fussing for a few minutes, before he realised that she was not winding down and broke in.

“Mother, you are being rude. Let me introduce the people who kept me alive the last few days. I doubt that I could have managed without them. Meet Sigmir, Adra and Morgana, each of them a formidable being in their own right.” We all gave a polite nod to our hostess. We had spent a night here, but nobody had ever bothered to introduce us.

Rai hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Friends, meet my mother, Anjij.” The blush on his face gave a hint at his thoughts, indicating that his hesitation was because of the identifier, ‘Friends’. I had to smile, what I would previously seen as a snub against us, seemed to be genuine shyness that had been hidden under a cloak of bluster.

“Greetings. Why don’t you all sit down and I get you something warm to drink? Rai, why don’t you go into your room and change into something more comfortable - you are home now, no need for the sturdy clothes.” Anjij gestured for us to sit and started bustling around in the kitchen. Rai seemed to think for a moment, before sitting with us, still in his armour.

It only took a few minutes for his mother to return, carrying a steaming kettle and mugs, which caused Rai to stand and help her. The look of surprise on her face was quite interesting to see.

“Sit, Rai, sit, you have been out for days, relax. Why haven’t you changed? Are you too cold, do you need me to put more wood onto the fire? Is that why you are still in your warm clothes?” She did manage to hand out the mugs and Rai poured each of us a warm herbal tea even while her fussing continued.

Sigmir looked a bit taken back by the excessive mothering Rai was smothered in, I could guess her thoughts, linking the excessive mothering to his spoiled behaviour when we met. There had been some of it when we were here last time, but back then, he stayed away, keeping it out of our sight.

The three of us watched as she tried to pull Rai into her pace, no doubt believing him to be the same person who had left two weeks before, not knowing that the events of those two weeks had changed him, hopefully on a fundamental level. It was almost funny watching them, Rai tried to take his cues from us, to be calm and collected, even while his mother almost literally tried to spoon-feed him his tea when he let it sit in front of him. At least his reluctance to drink the tea was relatable, the only good thing I could say about the tea was that it was warm - taste-wise, it was a mix of bitter with an aftertaste of grass.

I felt a mental tug from Lenore and rested my head in my hands, hiding my now closed eyes from view so nobody could tell that I was looking through her eyes. I was also getting sent her thoughts, allowing me to parse what she heard. Luckily, I was already sitting, or the disconnect between my mind and my body would have knocked me down. The conversation around me continued, but I only listened with half an ear, mainly focusing on the images Lenore was sending me.

Lenore was sitting on a roof and watching as Kallik walked into an open workshop, probably a carpenter’s workshop, judging from the tools and materials. She flew over, landing on the roof and I heard loud voices from below.

“... you heard? Giro managed to get some outsiders to help his pup. It’s a disgrace, he acts like a merchant instead of a leader, bartering and bending the rules - his father would have been ashamed.” Kallik’s voice was quite agitated as he spoke.

“So, he really did it? The pup didn’t even have the gumption to die on his feet, redeeming himself to the ancestors?”

“I didn’t see him, but while I was talking to Giro, two outsiders asked to speak with him and he happily went, like the dog he is. He obviously knew them, they were talking about some hunt they had been on and that Rai had redeemed himself by killing nymphs.” Kallik paused, before continuing, “But, the outsiders, we shouldn’t go against them. The one who was talking, she send a chill down my spine, just looking at her.” The undercurrent of fear in his voice made me want to smile.

“Pathetic!” spat the unknown voice. “Giro goes and finds some powerful helpers for his son, so he can claim that he redeemed himself? It stinks - cowards were always send out so they could die and regain their honour in death. What is the point if you send them with someone to hold their hand?”

“Cursed coward! First he kills my brother, then he can’t even die a proper death! Without the helpers Giro got, the little coward would have gone out and died, just like cowards are supposed to.”

“That gives me an idea. I doubt the outsiders will stay for long - once they are gone, you can call in the blood debt owed to you, and kill the pup yourself. I don’t know where Giro could find truly powerful allies, but I doubt that they are willing to stay in our village for long. There is simply nothing here that would interest someone like that. ”

“That… That would work. At least, my brother could rest in peace, knowing that the coward who killed him died for it.” Kallik’s voice sounded eager. “Thank you, Elder Tulok, for showing me the way.”

“I’m always willing to listen to the worries of our tribesmen. You know that. Farewell”, The voice that had to belong to that Elder Tulok said responded.

Kallik left the workshop and, just before Lenore flew off to follow him, I heard soft laughter from below. Soft, but somehow sinister laughter.

“Keep an eye on Kallik.” I asked Lenore over our connection, cutting the visual connection to return to my own body.

In Giro’s house, Anjij had excused herself into the kitchen and the four of us were simply sitting around the table, enjoying the fact that we were out of the cold and the wind. Even if you were resistant, it felt better to be warm, than to be cold.

But it was interesting that there was a faction that wanted Rai dead, or rather that wanted to harm Giro. That Elder Tulok didn’t sound as if he really cared about Rai in particular, his venom had been directed at Grio himself.

“Why are you smiling like that? Nothing good ever comes from that smile!” Adra accused and I realised that there was indeed a small smile on my face.

“What do you mean? When do I smile like that?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“Every time when you try something insane with your magic, you have that smile on your face. What do you have in mind that you smile like this?!”

Just before I could answer, the door opened and Giro and a second, older beastman entered.

“There you are. Morgana, meet Elder Yuka, he is our blacksmith.” Giro announced, the moment he entered.

Biting back the conversation with Adra, I greeted the unknown Elder.

“I have thought about the best way to announce Rai’s redemption and once a youngster has succeeded on their first hunt, they are given a weapon, made for them.” Giro explained. “That way, it is official that Rai is part of the tribe and not a coward. Rai, explain Elder Yuka what type of weapon you want.”

I had a feeling that the ceremony wouldn’t go over well, especially with Kallik.

“Say, Giro, what are your tribe’s traditions concerning blood debts?” I asked, seemingly as a non-sequitur.

“When one’s relative is killed, the relatives have the right to challenge the killer to collect the debt. Why do you ask?” Yuka answered, before Giro could.

“So, if someone, say Kallik, claimed that Rai had killed Dero by abandoning him in battle and wanted to collect the debt, he would have a case? Despite the fact that he had been punished for his deeds and afterwards redeemed himself?” I asked.

Both Giro and Rai blanched, and again, Yuka answered my question, this time with a frown. “The Elders would have to decide. I don’t think there was ever something like this. Nobody who had been named coward was able to redeem himself.”

“Why do you ask? Where did you get such an idea?” Giro asked, agitated.

“The winds whispered to me, that Elder Tulok has proposed just that to Kallik. Tulok seemed to carry a grudge against you, Giro. Care to explain?” I asked, while quickly hiding the smile that threatened to break out again.

The plot of the drama was thickening. I was looking forward to the next act.